The Shattered Galaxy
by Saber Girls
Summary: Years ago the Rebellion, only weeks after its triumph at Endor, fell apart following the death of Mon Mothma.  Years later, a rebel Jagged Fel seeks out smuggler Jaina Draygo to get him into the closed Corellian system, and a new saga begins.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1: The Corellian Job

**Prolouge**

Bail Draygo-Darklighter stood staring at the twin suns as they journeyed towards the horizon and listening to the universe.

The universe talked to Bail sometimes, and sometimes it sang. Mostly it murmured. When it was loud it was hard for him to think his own thoughts rather than those of the universe. He knew that Sera and Gavin and Tahiri worried about him when that happened, that they thought there was something wrong with his mind, but he knew there wasn't. He was Different. Tahiri was Different too, but the universe didn't speak as loudly to her, so she thought its song was just part of her. But Bail could hear it clearly, and it told him many things. Right now it told him, among other things, that Tahiri was behind him.

"Hi Tahiri."

"Hi Bail. You shouldn't be wandering around. You know how you are when you get like this."

"Huh?"

"Last time you took the speeder out to the old Sorcerer's Hut and passed out. I know you can tell when you're not all there, and you should know better than to wander around when you're being weird."

He smiled both at her teasing and at her warning. "The Sorcerer asked me to visit his house."

"He disappeared before either of us was born, Bail."

"The universe told me. The Sorcerer is part of the universe."

"Did the universe tell you anything interesting today?"

"Yes. My sister's coming soon."

"Bail, you don't have a sister. It's in the adoption records."

"Well, the records are wrong. And my name's not Bail." He could never remember what his real name was. Someone had hidden it. Usually he forgot that Bail wasn't his real name, but sometimes the universe reminded him.

**Chapter 1: The Corellian Job**

Jaina Draygo was looking for a job, so she wore her blastsword. She only ever for it when she was looking for a job, or a fight, or when she had one of her usually accurate hunches that a fight was looking for her. Of course, those hunches might only be right _because_ she took the blastsword with her when she had them.

The Adumari weapon made her identifiable. It was well known, where her face was not. Jaina Draygo had managed, for the most part, to stay off the wanted posters, but the girl who, on her first smuggling run, had managed to get caught up in the Adumari planetary conflict and come out of it not only her life but a half-dozen medals from four different Adumarian constituencies, not to mention one of the planet's distinctive weapons, tended to build up something of a reputation. It had been the first of several instances where Captain Jaina Draygo had gone against her better judgment – the latest had been that fiasco on Dathomir a year back- come out with a higher profile – not exactly something a smuggler aimed for – and, in the last case, a new partner. The high profile helped, she had to admit, when she was looking for jobs, since people knew her name and tended, if anything, to overestimate her capabilities. The partner helped because Tenel Ka Djo had learned to deal with the modern world quickly and, after a couple months, had made the best co-pilot Jaina had ever had, and because she was nearly unbeatable in a fight.

The point was, Jaina Draygo had a tendency to get involved in do-gooder escapades completely foreign to what she like to think of as her character, and she wore the distinctive result of one of those escapades on her hip when she was looking for attention, or expecting it.

Ask and ye shall receive.

The man, square faced and black haired, his eyes obscured by a visor – one of those Bothan data-gathering models if she wasn't mistaken – sat down beside her and ordered an Ebla beer, sipped on it for a while before turning to her.

"You're Jaina Draygo?"

"How many other people in this sector carry a blastsword?"

"Very few, I would imagine." He held out his hand. "Jaq. Jaq Antillies. I have a job I believe will interest you."

"And what leads you to think that?"

"You have a reputation for taking rather unusual jobs. And I have a rather large amount of valuable and rare, if traceable, goods. I suspect you're an astute enough businesswoman to make a profit off of them without getting into much trouble."

"Are you trying to flatter me, Mr. Antillies?"

"That is simply a agreeable side effect of telling the truth in this case, Ms. Draygo."

"I never actually said I was Draygo."

"But you are."

"Of course. Now what's the nature of this job of yours?"

"I want you to get me into the Corellian system, then get me and four other individuals out."

Jaina whistled.

"Will you take the job? I promise you, the compensation will be more than adequate."

"We'll discuss it with my partner. Follow me."

She got up and began walking towards the hanger where the _Kestrel_ was docked. She knew he'd follow.

------------------------

She found Tenel Ka at work in the speeder bay on her bowcaster. Tenel Ka was the only non-Wookie she'd ever use such a weapon, she apparently liked having something closer to the weapons of her homeworld, even if it was hybridized with modern technology.

Tenel Ka looked up even before Jaina was through the open doorway. She seemed to have a preternatural sense sometimes, claimed to be a witch at others. Tenel Ka said the only reason Jaina had never seen her use magic was that she believed that if she used it too much it would become a crutch. Tenel Ka always preferred to rely on herself. She also claimed her father had fallen from the sky. At times Jaina wondered if her partner was completely there mentally.

"Tenel Ka, we may have a job."

"This is good. We will require more credits soon, if we are to continue to eat."

"Funny, Tenel Ka."

Jaq stepped forward.

"Our potential employer?"

Jaq gave something of a miniature bow. "Jaq Antillies at your service, Miss…?"

"I am Tenel Ka Djo of the Singing Mountain Clan. Of Dathomir."

Jaq's eyes widened and he turned to Jaina "Then the stories about you and Dathomir are true."

"Unfortunately."

Tenel Ka spoke up. "It was indeed foolish of you to involve yourself, Jaina Draygo, but I am thankful that you did."

"Yeah. Right. My stupidity aside, Mr. Antillies here has a job for us if we're interested. He wants us to get him into the Corellian system, then get him and some friends out."

"And he needs smugglers to do this why?"

"Corellian system's been close practically since the Rebellion and the Old Empire fell. Thrackan Sal-Solo staged an uprising when Ysanne Isard's coupe destabilized the galactic government for a while and set himself up Diktat, declared Corellia's independence, and interdicted the entire system somehow for a few months and by the time the New Empire got there he'd turned Centerpoint station into some kind of superweapon. _No one _gets into the past Corellian Security these days unless they're very, very good."

"And are we 'very, very good' Jaina?"

"I think we are, Tenel Ka."

"Does this mean," interjected Jaq, "that you'll take the job?"

"You haven't told me exactly what the pay is yet, Mr. Antillies," Jaina replied.

"I can't yet. I'm afraid the nature of the goods is such that it would reveal more about my mission than I wish you to know."

"We will take the job." This from Tenel Ka.

"What!?"

"We must take this job, Jaina Draygo. I sense it."

"You- what!?" But even as she protested, inarticulately or not, she knew she would do it. As insane as it was, she trusted Tenel Ka's hunches, and she trusted her instincts. And her instincts were telling her, more strongly that they'd told her anything ever before, that she had to take this job.

It wasn't just that she and Tenel were running out of food and fuel money. It wasn't just curiosity. It wasn't just about her and Tenel Ka. This was, Jaina's instincts told her, about something bigger, much bigger than them, or her, or even staying alive and flying – and Jaina Draygo had an unfortunate tendency to get herself involved in things about something bigger than herself.


	2. Chapter 2: Untitled

**Chapter 2: **

"These will be your quarters."

The room – if it could be called that – was very small, as was to be expected on a ship the size of the _Kestrel_, as Draygo had informed 'Jaq' the ship was called. He hadn't exactly expected to be led to a luxury suite.

"More than adequate," he said, "but I have to ask where you plan to put the four people we're going to pick up on Corellia."

"Cargo bay. We aren't exactly a passenger ship."

"Ah. Oh course." The thought of billeting such esteemed personages in the cargo bay of a smuggler's ship needled his sense of propriety a bit, but the fact was that there was no doubt as to whether the four of them had endured such conditions before. According to the dossiers, two of them had actually been smugglers.

Draygo left him without a word. He closed the door behind her and locked it, then put down his small bag on the bunk that occupied nearly two thirds of the room's area. He opened it, took out his neatly folded clothes, his blaster pistol (he also had a small holdout blaster concealed in his sleeve and a vibrodagger in his right boot), and a few personal items – toiletries, mind you, nothing that would reveal anything about his actual life – and, finally, pulled what appeared to be a datapad, and would, if examined, even perform the functions of an the older model it appeared to be. The data stored on it consisted mainly of what appeared to be a record of the journal of a slightly unsavory traveler with unusually little fondness of references to his personal life.

He activated the device and entered a command, and it began to perform its true function: transmitting audio messages across hyperspace.

"Drebble, this is Jaq…"

-------------------

"What do you make of our new employer, Captain?"

Jaina turned to her. "Well, he's definitely hiding something. And there's no way 'Jaq Antillies' is his real name. The first name is pretty archaic, and the last is way too common. Wonder why he chose it."

"I do not know. It is indeed strange."

"Why did we even take this job?"

"I felt that it was necessary to do so."

"But why?"

"It was instinct, Jaina Draygo. For a witch, such instincts are rarely wrong. I believe that you felt the same thing. I think that, had you been born on Dathomir, you would have become a great witch."

"Sure, TK, sure."

"You do not believe me. I think you will, someday."

"Is that another instinct?"

"Indeed."

"… Let's talk routes." Jaina pulled up the navcomp display. "The question, I think, is where they'll be expecting smugglers to come at the system from…"

-------------

Elsewhere

Four people, three men and one woman sit around a table sharing drinks in a shady bar. One man wears a cloak, and the shadows around his face are unnaturally dark.

"So Dreb' why are we here?" asks a man with gray hair and a thick beard.

"Jaq contacted me earlier today. He's on his way, about to leave Abregado-rea. We have to come to a decision," replies a dark-skinned man

"I thought we already had. We leave our operation in the hands of the regional leaders. We go with Jaq. We meet with the Bakurans," said the hooded man.

"The two of us have been talking," says the woman. "We're not so sure anymore."

"Why the hell not?" asks the bearded man.

"What do we really know about Jaq?" says the woman. "That he claims to represent the Bakurans. He admits to not giving us his real name-"

"Like we'd have given each other ours if we weren't all already well know for one reason or another." This from the dark-skinned man.

"- and that's about it. This is risky, very risky."

"I agree," says the cloaked man. His voice is, for some reason indistinct, its characteristics forgotten as soon as his speech ceased. "I haven't seen anything to indicate this is a sting, but I don't have access most intelligence operations unless they're joint. But we're loosing. We're loosing badly. It's getting harder and harder to throw the investigations out without arousing suspicion. As it is, I've had to resort to … extreme measures, more than once."

"You've had people killed?" asks the bearded man, surprised.

"No!" the cloaked man nearly breaks the hushed tone of the conversation, so appalled is he.

"Then what in the frak do you mean by 'extreme measures?'"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. The point is, we have to trust Jaq, at least to degree. We have no choice."

-------------------

'Jaq's' fake datapad let out a soft beep, a sound that usually indicated that the powercell needed replacing. In this case it indicated a message. He once again activated the device, and an electronically altered voice emerged:

"We will be waiting for you."


	3. Chapter 3:  The Corellia Run, Part 1

**Chapter 3: The Corellia Run, Part I**

Dinner was better than his usual cardboard ration.

"This is really quite good."

"Thank Tenel Ka," said Jaina, her mouth half full. "She's the cook. Actually does it the old fashioned way. We have a modified heating-unit hooked up in the galley and she actually heats things over it."

'Jaq' looked at Tenel Ka with a new sense of respect. He hardly approved of smugglers, but anyone with such a rare skill – who's usefulness was becoming readily apparent – was to be admired.

"My complements, Ms. Djo."

"Tenel Ka is sufficient."

"Just don't drop the 'Ka,'" said Jaina, grinning. "That really pisses her off."

Tenel Ka grunted, causing Jaina to give a short burst of laughter.

'Jaq' just continued eating.

"So, I don't suppose you'd be willing to tell me more about our reward now that we're underway?"

"Not unless you've taken the exceedingly foolish measure of eliminating the option of changing course Captain Draygo."

"Nope. Not that stupid."

"I expected as much. I do apologize, but I have no intention of giving away information that could reveal more about my mission than you need to know."

Tenel Ka spoke up. "And how much, Jaq Antillies, do we need to know?"

"Nothing more than you do already."

--------------------

"Getting into Corellia is tricky, but it can be done. Our plan is based partially on the undoubtedly exaggerated stories of people who've done it. Part of it is based on reliable intel we've bought off of the Karrde group's agents via a secure hyperspace link. Thoroughly encoded. Karrde's the best, and his group is trustworthy. No one else, let alone the Corellians, is going to know we have this info. Part of the plan is our own deductions. Part is our instincts."

Jaina stood at the front of the cockpit, a holographic display of the Corellian system floating in the air beside her. Tenel Ka sat beside her, entering some last minute changes to their course

"The instincts part – are you sure that's wise?"

"No. But it usually is. And besides, you've already committed yourself to this. We could turn you in to the Corellian authorities for pretty darn big reward, that's a lot more sure than what you're promising us."

"Point taken."

"Now here's the plan." She hit a button on the consol beside her and a line appeared, linking Corellia to parts unknown. "This," she said "is our course form Abregado-rea to Corellia. Now, our first jump out of Abregado-rea took us coreward a few parsecs, to throw off any potential pursuit, and incase anyone backtraces our route. This trajectory also gets us into the system at such an angle as to put us as close to Corellia as possible when the gravity-well pulls us out of hyperspace. And we are going to let the gravity-well pull us out. Doing that too often is no good for the hyperspace engine, but we barely ever do that, so we should be fine."

She hit another button and the display zoomed in on Corellia. The line showed a complicated descent pattern.

"We'll be entering the atmosphere here, " she continued, pointing at the point at which the line entered the holographic haze surrounding the image of the planet. "Our proposed course avoids as many of the known surveillance and orbital defense satellites as possible, but there's no way we can avoid them all. Besides, they may have changed the positioning since our data was gathered."

Jaq spoke up. "These orbital defenses – can your ship handle them?"

"As long as we don't stick around too long, yes. The Kestrel is more than capable of taking a few hits."

Jaq nodded in satisfaction.

"Once we enter the atmosphere, things get interesting. We put the engines into cool-down mode and glide under the cloud cover."

"Are you sure we don't just fall?"

"Funny Antillies, very funny. Here's how it is: not many people study aeronautics these days but I have. Back when I was swoop racing on Nar Shaada I studied anything I could get my hands on that would let my improve my speed, and so few people bother with aeronautics these days that the texts – really dense stuff, I don't recommend it for casual reading – are usually free. And my first partner and I practically built the Kestrel from the ground up."

"I apologize Captain Draygo."

"Apology accepted. Anyway, what we do is glide to here, " she said, pointing to a mountainous spot on the same continent as Coronet, "and use the repulsors to land. Then we cover the ship in camo netting and we hike to the nearest town – about twenty miles – and get a maglev ride to wherever we're going."

"Coronet. We're going to Coronet. Captain Draygo, while I am more than capable of handling a twenty mile hike in the mountains, I can't vouch for the people we're here to collect."

"… You've never met these people before, have you?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Tenel Ka, you may have to carry some old people. You up to it?"

"I am strong Captain, but this is a rather unreasonable request."

"That was a joke Tenel Ka, even if it wasn't a very good one."

"Ah. Aha."

Jaina looked back to Jaq, who was giving them an odd look.

"It's called 'banter,' Mr. Antillies. It's a skill I'm trying to teach my first mate. Would you like lessons as well?"

Jaq appeared to think for a moment.

"No thank you, Captain. I believe you have enough on your plate teaching Ms. Djo."

Jaina's face split in a radiant grin. "Someone's a fast learner."

-----------

An hour before they were due to be pulled out of hyperspace by Corellia's gravity well, Jaq joined Jaina in cockpit. Tenel Ka was meditating in the cargo bay.

"I just wanted to thank you," said Jaq, "for taking this job."

Jaina grunted. "Thank Tenel Ka. She's the one who agreed to it."

"You're the captain you could have vetoed her."

"I'm the captain of a two person crew, Mr. Antillies. I can't exactly alienate the other member of that crew."

"She's from a primitive planet and she's had no access to information about the galaxy at large for most of her life. She had no idea how dangerous making the Corellia Run is. You could have refused without tearing your crew apart."

"Could I have? Tenel Ka gets pretty weird sometimes, when she thinks she's having magical instincts."

"Magical?"

"She says she's a witch. It's a Dathomiri thing."

"I …see."

"Yeah. It's pretty weird. Hardly the weirdest thing you'll hear, or the oddest person you'll meet, if you live on the fringe long enough. Which you haven't."

"It's that obvious?"

"Yep. You're way too polished, and in the wrong way. You're a military man, aren't you?"

"I'm not going to answer that."

"I thought as much."

"So who and what on the fringe is stranger than a woman who claims to have magical powers?"

"The rumors, for one. There are people who say Luke Skywalker is still alive. Some even claim to have seen him in a few of the seedier ports."

Jaq chuckled.

"Then there are the Darth Vader sightings. And the people who claim he was Anakin Skywalker – some war hero from the Clone Wars. Folks talk about Corellia being a giant space ship. And of course there's always the usual talk about Zonama Sekot and Lusankya."

"Those last two you here everywhere."

"Yeah, but do you hear the stories about the Emperor's Hand defecting."

"No. That's a good one though."

"Do you think she was real or just another urban legend?"

"The Emperor's Hand? She either didn't exist or the stories about her became greatly exaggerated in the course of the telling. Changing appearance? Using telekinesis? Even carrying a lightsaber? Sounds to me like those stories grew out of the stories about the Jedi, from people wanting to believe they still existed in some form."

An alarm went off on the console beside Jaina. She turned to her companion.

"Do me a favor, Jaq? Go Tenel Ka meditation time is over."

---------

They came out of hyperspace just inside Corellia's defensive perimeter, and the firing began immediately. A transmission came in simultaneously: "You have entered the space of the Corellian system without transmitting proper authorization. You will power down your engines immediately or your ship will be destroyed."

Jaina sat in the pilot's seat, Tenel Ka beside her in the co-pilot's, and Jaq strapped in behind them in one of the two passenger seats they barely ever used. Jaina grinned maniacally.

"Like hell." And then she began to fly.

Jaq knew pilots. He'd seen more pilots fly than he could count, had even been one. He knew pilots, and he knew Captain Jaina Draygo was something else. She dodged, she span, she pulled turns that taxed the inertial compensators beyond their limits. But what was remarkable about the way Jaina Draygo flew was that she seemed to get into the rhythm of it, in a way that few pilots Jaq knew could, and those few were veterans who'd been flying and fighting much longer than the young captain. She seemed to instinctively know the defense platform's firing patterns. She dodged as though she knew where the next shot would come from. She danced.

And then they were into the atmosphere and under the clouds and Jaina was talking, more calm than any pilot had the right to be immediately out of battle, without the break that landing provided to let the adrenaline subside:

"Cut the engines and begin cool-down sequence."

They glided for a while, marvelously serene, Jaq just staring, for once, at the sky in front of him as Jaina kept them under cloud cover using the maneuvering repulsors.

A crackling, then speech from the com: "This is Corellian Defense Force. Surrender control of your ship to us or prepare to be destroyed."

"Shut off the com, Tenel Ka."

Tenel Ka, who had been working on the cool-down sequence, didn't even look away from her consol as she reached over and flipped the com switch. And then they were off again, dodging, this time with Tenel Ka returning fire via a holographic display linked one of the turrets while still performing the cool-down routine, all with only maneuvering repulsors. Eventually the headhunters and TIEs broke off the pursuit.

"They are planning to catch us once we land," said Tenel Ka. Jaina nodded, and continued their nearly unpowered descent.

----------------------

They had landed, Tenel Ka reported, only about ten kilometers from where they had planned to. Jaina seemed please with this. Apparently it was well within her preferred margin of error, one that 'Jaq' felt was perfectly reasonable. She stood up and gestured in the direction of the cargo bay.

"Jaq, if you'd be so kind as to help me get the camo netting while Tenel Ka changes into something less reptilian?" she said with a nod to Tenel Ka, who was in the process of leaving the cockpit.

"Of course."

--------------

Tenel Ka emerged from the ship when he and Jaina were half way through putting the netting up. She was dressed in black denim pants and a tight white shirt, and was hefting a knapsack that, 'Jaq' assumed her bowcaster. The woman didn't seem the sort to leave her weapon behind. Jaina, he noted, had stashed a tube the size of her blastsword just inside the hatch along with the two knapsacks containing their supplies. She grabbed it and the knapsacks just before they secured the netting over the hatch. She tossed one to him. It was surprisingly heavy.

-----------------

It was, Tenel Ka felt, an easy hike. She knew that Jaina, and most likely the man who claimed to be called Jaq Antillies, would find the pace she set vigorous, but for her it was a matter of course. The Kestrel had an ovoid corridor running around the galley and common room, and Tenel Ka ran laps every day. Many laps. She was not, she regretted, in the exemplary shape she had been in on Dathomir, but she was far more fit than most human members of the galactic community. Mind you, Jaina was fairly impressive for a member of her culture, and apparently the same could be said of Antillies.

They had set out at perhaps 0800, local time, and the set up a small camp when the sun set. Jaina slept in her tent, lending her own to Antillies. They cooked some old Imperial rations in a portable heating unit and ate them in silence, before going to sleep. Tenel Ka dreamed of her great-grandmother who had died in the battle against the Nightsisters a year ago.

"My child," Augwynne Djo said, "a great change is coming to the stars. You will be there. You will see it. You will be a seed of it. You will bring the Jai to us, my daughter's daughter's daughter."

When she awoke at dawn the dream was crystal clear in her memory. She meditated on it for nearly an hour, but she could not fathom how it would come to pass, though she did not doubt that it would. She went to wake the others.

------------------

When the small town of Corwin's Rest came into view over the last of the foothills they'd been hiking through Jaina called a halt and passed out the fake papers she'd bought for them back on Abregado-rea.

"These reportedly made by the best, but I don't know how up to date they are. There's no way to know. Tenel Ka, you're Jolyn Thrax. I'm Haria Jaim. Jaq is still Jaq, since he's already provided himself with a fake name. Last part sounds Corellian too." She turned to Jaq.

"You're going to need to take that visor off. It might not be a problem in the town – people might just think you've got some weird sunglasses – but espionage devices won't be allowed on the maglev anymore than blastswords or bow casters."

"I assume you've got something to fool the weapons scanners?"

"Of course. Just toss it in Tenel Ka's pack."

Tenel Ka proffered the relevant pack and Jag walked up to her, took off and folded up his visor, and placed it in the bag. Then he added his pistol, holdout blaster and vibroknife. Jaina gave him an appreciative look. Jaq and Tenel Ka looked at each other for a moment and then he turned back to Jaina and met her eyes.

His eyes were a beautiful shade of green.

Jaina nodded mutely and started walking again.

------------

"Your papers, please?"

'Jaq' handed his papers to the bored station security officer and passed his bag through the weapons scanner.

"What the hell kind of name is Jaq?" said the officer, handing back his papers.

"You'd have to ask my parents."

He walked through the personal scanner and sat down on a stood waiting for Jaina and Djo to go through the same process, which they did without any problems. The three of them headed for the third of the four platforms, Jaina noisily relating a rather absurd dream to her emotionally detached partner, and him chuckling occasionally when it seemed appropriate.

Their train arrived shortly after they got to the platform and they boarded, presumably passing through the weapons sensors embedded in the doorways without incident.

The ride to Coronet was about three hours long. Jaina purchased (they still used Imperial credits presumably because the currency was so stable) on a magazine from the attendant droid – a swoop racing zine featuring profiles of such past greats as Dengar Jag bought a newspaper.

"CorSec Investigates New Lead in the Bombing of Bela Vistal Military Installation"

"Diktat Sal-Solo to Visit the Saccorian Territories"

"Coronet Comets Coach Mal Reno Reveals the Story Behind the Team's Controversial Roster Changes"

The two of them read for the rest of the trip as Tenel Ka stared out the window.

------------

Coronet had suffered since the holo's in Jaina's foster parents' album, but it was still an impressive sight. It had nothing on some of the places Jaina had been in terms of either size or aesthetic appeal.

"So," she said, turning to Jag, who was looking out from the large window in the stations entrance hall to the cityscape before them, "where now?"

-----------

The airtaxi dropped them off in a lower class neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, ostensibly to visit a cousin of Jaina's and drop off the painting she was carrying in her tube. She'd come up with that story on the fly when their cab driver turned out to be the talkative type.

From where they were dropped off they followed the map Jaq had bought at the maglev station a few blocks to a worse neighbor hood, put their weapons, save for Jaina's blastsword, on openly, and perhaps a kilometer further until they reached an area where the damage from Sal-Solo's uprising was still visible. There they entered a seedy looking bar bearing the dubious name of Wander Inn and took seats at the bar.

Jaq waited for the bartender to come over and then gave him the code phrase: "A glass of Namana liquor, please."

"They're at the corner table," said the bartender, a grey-furred Selonian, pointing towards a shadowy table with the privacy shield up.

Jaq turned toward Jaina and Tenel Ka, said, "You two wait here," and headed over to the table.

------------

Jaq entered the privacy shield and sat down in the table's single unoccupied seat, across from a cloaked figure whose face was shrouded in shadows. He held out his hand to the man.

"Jaq Antillies." The man didn't shake.

"If this is going to work, boy, we're going to have to trust each other. Your name, your real name, please."

'Jaq' took a deep breath. This was risky, but he had to chance it.

"Jagged. Jagged Fel."

----------

"Whyrens's Reserve, please." The bartender slid a bottle of the whiskey to her and turned back to polishing glasses. It was around 1400 and the bar was nearly empty. "What do you think he's up to?" she asked Tenel Ka.

"Perhaps he is being paid to smuggle these individuals out of the system."

"But why would he need to come here? And why wouldn't they hire someone with their own ship? The fewer people involved in that kind of operation the better."

------

The cloaked man nodded, and then lowered his hood. The shadows seemed to linger around his face for a split second longer than they should have. He had graying brown hair and sharp eyes. He finally reached out to shake Jag's hand.

"Hal Horn."

----------

"Rebels," Jaina blurted out, barely remembering to keep her voice down. "This could have something to do with the Corellian rebels."

"What makes you say this?"

"Hunch, I guess."

----------

"This is Lando Calrissian," said Horn, indicating a dark skinned man to his left, "– his wife Tendra Risant Calrissian, – " a woman with blondish-brown hair, "and this miscreant –" a gray haired and bearded man, " – Is Booster Terrik."

--------

"Jaq is a rebel. I'm sure of it."


	4. Interlude 1

**Interlude 1**

_Rouge Group Base, Kashyyyk_

They slept in the Pulsar Skate because the Rouge Group base on Kashyyyk had become incredibly crowded of late and, since they had the Baudo-class yacht in the hanger whenever Mirax was on base, they used it as their quarters whenever they were there together. When Mirax and the Skate were gone, Corran slept with the rest of his squadron in the bunkroom. Mirax was heading out tomorrow.

"I don't see why it has to be you," he said, standing beside her. She just sighed; they had been over this several times already.

"I understand that Wedge can't go. He's too easily recognizable. But what about Tycho?"

"As you're well aware, Corran, Tycho Celchu is nearly as recognizable as Wedge Antilles these days."

"You're right, you're right. I just wish it wasn't you," he said, wrapping his arms around his lover.

"I don't fully understand why they're sending me, myself. I'm not exactly a politician," Mirax admitted.

"Probably has something to do with your negotiation skills. You sure you don't want to take Whistler?" he asked.

"Corran, I don't need your astromech to take care of me."

"I'm just worried about you, Mirax. This is going to be the largest gathering of rebel leaders since the fall of the Alliance, and that means there are more chances that the Imperials have heard of it than there have been for any meeting since then. I wish I could go with you."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I know you do, CorSec."


	5. Chapter 4: The Corellia Run, Part 2

**Chapter 4: The Corellia Run, Part II**

Jaq emerged from the privacy shield with four other people, presumably their additional passengers. Jaina stood up and offered her hand to each of them in turn. "Captain Jaina Draygo," she said, and, indicating Tenel Ka, "My first mate, Tenel Ka Djo."

They gave her names that did one courteously 'Jaq's' didn't: they were obvious about being fake. The man whose face she couldn't really see was 'Saber,' the dark skinned man 'Drebble,' the woman on his arm 'Corria,' and the bearded man 'Jys.'

"We've got a speeder parked outside. Some of us can't afford to be seen together. Or at all. In any case, we can't take the –"

Saber was interrupted by the sound of the doors banging open.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!"

They all dropped to the floor immediately.

"We are the Corellian Intelligence Service. This operation is for your protection. Rebel leaders have been traced to this location. You will all be taken in for questioning. Please remain calm."

"Damnit, Saber I thought you said you'd thrown them off!" whispered Jys.

"I'm not in the Intelligence Service, Jys!"

The armored agents were now moving through the bar, hustling the patrons out one by one.

"If they see my face…" said Saber.

Jaina came to a decision.

Here we go again.

She pulled out her blaster and fired off a volley at the agent who had spoken first. He dropped immediately, and almost at the same moment the rest of the agents turned towards her and started firing.

She rolled, came to a stand, and leapt over the bar, taking up a firing position on the other side. The bartender, crouching down and holding the glass he'd been polishing in a grip so tight his hand was shaking, glared blaster bolts at her. She ignored him.

Shoot. Duck. Change position. One down. Tenel Ka was beside her, bowcaster firing. Jaq had made it back to the corner table and was letting fly blaster bolts from behind the privacy screen. Three of the new passengers were holed up behind a table made of the same plasteel fake wood as the bar that they'd knocked over and pushed up against the wall. The fourth, Saber, was presumably with Jaq. There were two streams of fire coming from the holographic and sound dampening privacy shield.

There had been twelve CIS agents. Now there were eleven – no, wait, ten – left. Tenel Ka had taken down another. A third and fourth fell to the fire from the behind the privacy shield, almost simultaneously. Eight left.

A grunt from beside her and Tenel Ka was down with a blaster bolt to her shoulder.

"Tenel Ka!" Jaina dropped down and crawled over to her first mate, but the Dathomiri was already up again and continuing to shoot.

Jaina stared for a moment, then went back to shooting.

---------------

The last agent went down and the shooting stopped. Jaina stood up, followed by their passengers and the rest of the patrons. Jaq and Saber emerged from the privacy shield.

Everyone stared at each other a moment, then Saber spoke up in his strangely unmemorable voice. "We need to go. Now."

They all ran for the door, grabbing their things as they went. Halfway out, Jaina came to a dead stop.

"Where's Tenel Ka?" She about-faced and jumped back over the bar. Tenel Ka had collapsed. She'd somehow opened up the cauterization caused by the blaster-bolt. Her left arm was covered in blood.

"Crap." Jaq had come up behind her. He leaned down and picked up Tenel Ka and her knapsack, then followed Jaina out of the bar.

----------

"What happened to her?!" shouted Corria as they ran behind the building, following Saber to a speeder.

"Broke open her wound," said Jaina. "She's Dathomiri. She doesn't let little things like being shot stop her from fighting!"

They clambered into the speeder, Tenel Ka jammed between Jaina and Jaq, Corria packed in on Jaina's left. Saber, at the wheel, shared the front seat with Drebble and Jys, who seemed to be trying to scoot as far away from Saber as possible. Jaq stripped off his shirt and used it to apply pressure to Tenel Ka's wound.

"We can't take her to a doctor or a hospital. They're all required to check ID and report anyone without papers."

"Then what are we going to do?!" Jaina was panicking. She wasn't going to loose a first mate, not again.

"Calm down, captain. I know a healer on the east side who should be able to take care of him."

"A 'healer?'"

"No formal training, just a hell of a lot of talent."

"Great."

----------

They drove, at a fast but not overly remarkable pace, across the city to east Coronet, which, it turned out, was even more destitute than the area they'd come from. It was practically a shantytown.

"This used to be a middle-class neighborhood," Saber explained, "but it got pretty beat up during the uprising. Now you get four or five families squatting in the houses that are left standing and the rest of the population building makeshift homes out of whatever they can find."

They'd had to slow down or risk running over the numerous children playing and running around in the streets. Tenel Ka was nearly white as a sheet.

Eventually they stopped in front of a house that was both smaller and in better shape than the rest of those around it. Saber parked the speeder and got out.

"This way."

They followed him, Jaq carrying Tenel Ka.

----------

The door to the house was unlocked, interior clean, and the décor, such as it was, colored in earth tones and soft blues and greens. There was a feeling of organic cleanliness about the place. It had a calming effect, and Jaina felt her muscles relax somewhat as she entered.

"Hello? Jace?" Saber called out.

"Coming!" came a voice from one of the adjacent rooms.

Jaina set down her pack and the tube containing her blastsword and Jaq's gear just as a young man of about her age entered the room, wearing loose pants and no shirt and toweling his light brown hair dry.

"What brings you here Ha-"

"Saber."

"What brings you here, Saber?"

Jaq, still holding Tenel Ka, who had his shirt wrapped around her wound, stepped forward. "She does. Saber says you can help her."

The man leaned over Tenel Ka, gently unwrapping the shirt. He whistled.

"This is pretty bad but I think I can handle it. Follow me." As the man turned to lead them through a door to their left Jaina caught his eyes, meaning to ask him how exactly he planned to 'handle it' without any training. His eyes were the exact same brandy-brown as hers. He broke eye contact after a moment and continued heading towards the door. As he opened it, he spoke.

"I'm Jacen Draygo, by the way."

--------

Jacen continued into his workroom, trying to concentrate on clearing his mind but unable to pull his thoughts away from the woman with his eyes. He shook his head and turned to the black-haired man carrying his patient. He ran a sanitizer over the padded plasteel surface that was his makeshift examining table.

"Put her over here, Mr.…"

"Antillies," said the man. "Jaq Antillies."

Jacen nodded, noticing that the brandy-eyed woman and Hal – what was going on? Why was Hal using his Resistance codename? Was his patient a rebel? What about Antillies and the girl with the eyes? – had followed them into the examining room.

"The bleeding's almost stopped," he said, half to himself. "That's good."

He pulled up a stool next to the examining table and sat down. "Blaster shot?"

"Yes," said the woman with his eyes. He could even hear echoes of his voice in hers. He nodded.

Jacen closed his eyes, placed his hand over the wound, and began listening to the woman's life-beat.

"What's her name?" he asked as he slipped into the trance.

It was the browned hair woman who spoke. "Tenel Ka Djo."

Jacen nodded and surrendered completely to the energy around him.

---------

Jaina turned to Hal "What the hell is he doing?"

Hal, who had taken a seat in one of several chairs upon coming in, gave Jaina a deadpan look. "Healing her."

"What the frak? Is this guy some kind of Jedi?"

"No."

Jag, for his part, hadn't turned away from Jacen and Tenel Ka. It could be a coincidence, but why did the healer have Jaina's last name? It was after all, a very rare one. More important, were his eyes wrong, or was the flesh around the edge of Djo's wound slowly knitting together.

"Jaina. Look."

Jaina turned back and immediately shut up.

-----------

Tenel Ka's first thought upon waking up was that she should have learned the basics of the healing spells before leaving Dathomir. Her second was that the state the wet-haired man in front of her was in pathetic shape, judging by what was visible of his body. She attempted to tell him as much, but it came out garbled and in Dathomiri. Disappointing. She had worked hard learning on improving the Basic her father had taught her since leaving Dathomir with Jaina Draygo.

"Easy now," said the man. "You've had a rough day."

Tenel Ka nodded. It was unwise to tax one's body when it was damaged. She turned to look at her injured shoulder. Tender new pink skin covered the area where the hole had been. She whipped her head back to look at the man again.

"You- you did this?"

He grinned and nodded. "Uh-huh."

The word came from her lips in a whisper, almost unbidden: "Jai." And then she fell back into darkness.


	6. Chapter 5: Untitled

**Chapter 5: Departure**

"Will she be alright?" Jaina asked Jacen.

"Yeah," he said, still smiling. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Jaina. Draygo."

"That's… weird."

"I know."

The healer nodded to her and turned to Saber.

"What happened, Saber?"

"We were at a meeting. CIS found us. Jacen, I'm going to be leaving for a while."

"How long?"

"I'm really not sure. I'm going to leave the system."

Jacen stared at him. "I'm coming with you," he finally said.

"I'm sorry Mr. Draygo," Jaq broke in before Saber could reply, "but I've only contracted Captain Draygo and Ms. Djo for the transport of myself and the four others."

Jacen turned back to Jaina. "You're from out-of-system, then?"

She nodded. "I was actually born here, but I grew up on Nar Shaada. My foster parents managed to get us off planet the year after the uprising."

"There has to be some way to convince you to let me come with you. I need to get out of this system. There's no one here who knows anything about my power, no one who can teach me to use it better, tell me what it is. I have to get out of here."

"You can come."

"He can?" said Jaq, confused.

"He just saved my first mate's life, Mr. Antillies. He can come, though he'd better not expect any other payment."

"YES!" Jacen ran out of the room, calling back: "I'll be ready in just a minute!"

"He's … a bit immature," said Jaq.

"Yeah. A bit. How old is he anyway?"

"Twenty-four," said Saber, holding his face in his hands.

---------

When Jacen came back out of his room, carrying a stuffed but reasonably sized duffle, everyone except the Captain was gathered in the main room, talking quietly.

Hal waved him over.

"Jacen, are you sure about this? You'll be completely on your own if you leave."

"I'll find my way. They use the same monetary system out there, right? I've got a little saved up. I'll go to Obra-Skai, or some other place, find a job and start researching. I'll be fine. I know it."

"If you're sure, Jacen."

Captain Draygo came in at this point, followed by her still slightly pale first mate, who was staring at Jacen as though he had grown an extra head. Hal stood up.

"If you're able," he said, "we need to leave now."

Tenel Ka nodded and the eight of them went outside.

-----

The speeder was designed for six, tops. As it was, Corria was outright sitting in Drebble's lap.

Jaina had taken the wheel and, with directions from Saber, was driving them out of the city and towards Corwin's Rest.

They left the road a few klicks from the town, checking first to make sure there was no one there to see them, and journeyed into the mountains, keeping out of sight of the road.

They arrived at the ship after dark, about six hours after they left Jacen's house. Tenel Ka had fallen into an exhausted sleep along the way, and Jaina was hesitant to wake her. All she'd be doing on the flight out was simple engine routines and shooting. She helped Jaq put the redhead in her small cabin.

"You have three cabins," he noted.

Jaina nodded. "When the ship was being built, we originally thought there'd be three people crewing her."

Jaq was good enough at reading people to know he shouldn't enquire further.

"Can you co-pilot for me?" Jaina asked.

"If you show me the control lay out a couple times."

-------------

They took off about an hour later, their passengers strapped into the common room seats and Tenel Ka secured in her bunk with a sheet taped to the frame and wall. Almost immediately Corellian Defense was on them. This time there were no warnings other than those the sensors gave. The firing began immediately.

Jaq was, Jaina quickly determined as good a shot in the air as he was on the ground. He picked off two of the six X-wings on their tail before they were even out of the atmosphere, a third as they escaped the gravity-well. Jaina, for her part, flew like a madwoman.

When they'd jumped out and it was all over they sat in silence for moment staring at each other.

"You're good," said Jaq. "Very good. I've been meaning to tell you that since our flight in."

Jaina nodded. "You're not so bad yourself."

----------

The flight to Duros was less than 24 hours long, but, after a dinner far inferior to those available when Tenel Ka was conscious, it felt like nearly midnight for the Corellians. Jaina obtained Jaq's assistance in setting up some sleeping pads in the cargo hold, and they all went to bed, Jaq surrendering his cabin to Saber, who was apparently the leader of the new – presumably rebel – passengers.

They all went to bed, except Jaina.

She sat in the cockpit, staring out at the shining panorama of hyperspace and thinking about the last week.

She was sure that Jaq was a rebel. She was sure that Saber, Corria, Drebble and Jys were rebels as well, members of the Corellian Resistance. Jacen appeared to have functioned as a healer for those who couldn't afford – or risk – professional care. But how the hell did he do it?

It was like the stories they'd told in the refugee camp on Nar Shaada, the ancient tails of Jedi and Sith that she now realized must only have survived the Empire's twisting among those people who couldn't afford exposure to the mass media.

Saber had said that Jacen was no Jedi, and he'd said it with conviction, and – Jaina thought – a touch of sadness. But how could Saber know?

And yet, Jacen seemed ignorant about his powers. What was he?

Whatever he was, he was calling into question a whole hell of a lot. If Jedi, in some form, existed, then why not Tenel Ka's witches? TK claimed that the reason she'd never seen any dramatic magic (meaning, in Jaina's view, something that was provably not coincidence) was that such spells were hidden from those not of the clan. But there had been coincidences, so many coincidences, and then their was the way Kev had died…

---------

Jacen Draygo lay awake, thinking about the woman from out of system who was really from Corellia, and who had his name, and about finding someone to help him understand his powers.

Jagged Fel lay awake, thinking of the strange circumstances that seemed to surround Jaina Draygo, and regretting, for some reason, that he and the smuggler would soon part ways, undoubtedly for ever. He would go back to his lawful world, she would go back to the realm of chaos and backstabbing that was the galactic underworld, and they would never see each other again. That bothered him more than it should have.

Much more.

Hal Horn lay awake in a cabin when others slept on camping gear in the cargo hold, a cabin he had earned by turning against the law and the maintenance of order, and thought about the young man he'd kept hidden for twenty-two years, about the young woman who had escaped his sight, and about the on he hadn't seen in twenty two years, but whose presence he could still feel distantly in the Force.

And, resting in each other's arms, Tendra and Lando Calrissian slept.


	7. Chapter 6:  Leavetaking

Chapter 6: Leave-taking

They docked with one of the twenty orbital cities that circled the polluted wasteland that was Duros, where Jaq's ship was stowed.

"Why not fly all the way to Abregado-rea?" Jaina asked Jaq.

"In case I was being followed," he replied.

Jaina nodded. "Then I think it's about time you paid us, Mr. Antilles."

------------

The eight of them descended to Duros on one of the port's regular, if infrequent, shuttle flights. Jaina, on a whim, brought the tube containing her blastsword. Jaq gave her a strange look, to which she replied with a shrug.

They proceeded through the entirely enclosed port complex to the hangar where Jaq's ship was docked.

It was an old yacht, a SubSoro if she wasn't mistaken.Jaq led the four rebels to the common room, which had obviously been prepared in advance with comfortable sleeping accommodations. Then he led Jaina and Tenel Ka back to the cargo bay.

----------

"I'm… not going with you, am I?" said Jacen, staring at the four cots.

"Probably not, Jacen," said Hal.

"You saved the girl's first mate," Booster explained, "not the boy's."

Jacen nodded. "You tried to warn me about this, but I just assumed… Sometimes I think you protected me too much, Hal. I'm not used to thinking in terms of being on my own."

"I know kid, I know."

----------

"Namana liquor," Jaina stated. Jaq hesitated for a minute, then nodded.

"Then I was right," she continued. You're a rebel. You're with the Bakurans." Jaq hesitated for a moment, then nodded again.

Jaina stared at him. "There's just one thing I want to know," she said, "before you leave."

"Yes?

"What's your real name?"

He thought for a moment, wondering if he should tell her, and then said, "It's Jag."

She grinned. "So that's how you came up with something so archaic," she said. "You just turned the last letter around."

He gave a small smile, then turned to leave. "The crate's got repulsor lifts. Getting it back to your ship should be easy." He started walking.

"Wait." Jag stopped, turned back to Jaina with a questioning look. "Tenel Ka, could we have a moment alone?" the captain asked. Tenel Ka nodded and left the room.

Jaina walked up to Jag. Closer, she could tell, than he was comfortable with.

And then she kissed him.

----------

Jaina remained completely silent as she and Tenel Ka went through the Kestrel's power-up checklist, lost in her thoughts.

Jacen sat behind them, engrossed in his first chance to access the holonet.

"You are troubled," said Tenel Ka as she fixed the coolant intake levels.

"I kissed him," said Jaina, quietly, so that Jacen wouldn't notice. Not that he would have; he was completely absorbed in what he was doing.

Tenel Ka nodded. "You have been attracted to him since the beginning."

"Yeah, but I'm attracted to a lot of guys, Tenel Ka. I don't kiss them, though."

"You are unusual for a smuggler in this way."

"I know. But even though it's been a year, it feels like I'm betraying Kev." Jaina leaned back in the pilot's seat, fighting tears as the memories came rushing forth.

End Part I


	8. Chapter 7: The Off Worlders

Thanks to NYCitygurl for the beta. Here ya go guys.

**Part II: Dathomir**

**Chapter 7: The Off-Worlders**

_One Year Earlier_

The pirates had come upon them suddenly, when they'd come out of hyperspace briefly for a course change. They weren't well armed, but then again, Jaina and Kev weren't prepared. The pirates had gotten in a few solid shots before the Kestrel had jumped away. There had been damage to the hyperdrive, and now a rather intimidating number of red lights were visible on the consol. Kev was frantically searching for a place to set down for repairs on the navcomp while Jaina paced back and forth. They'd jumped to a safe distance, but they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Found one!" shouted Kev. "Dathomir. Privately owned, property of one Omogg, but apparently the Imperials have a base there anyway. We'll have to be careful."

Jaina turned to him. "We can do careful. Lay in a course."

----------

The hyperdrive died at the edge of the Dathomir system, and they spent the next few days cruising toward the planet. Jaina and Kev spent the time performing diagnostics, checking out the engine manually, and being incredibly bored. They played sabaac. They improvised a derjack board and played that. They made out. Kev took his dreadlocks out and put them back in. The two of them got uproariously drunk on the black-market Corellian ale they'd been planning to sell on Ord Mantell. They were still bored.

Eventually they reached the planet.

--------------

They began repairs on the hyperdrive immediately. It was a fairly simple problem, caused by a leak in the coolant system.

"This engine has gotten way too delicate," said Jaina. "We're going to need to get a new one soon."

Kev came up behind her and hooked his arms around her waist. "It's a miracle it's kept going so long, Jaina. You're really good at what you do."

She turned and linked her own arms around his neck. "I've had help." She brought her lips up to meet his for a quick kiss.

-----------

About three hours later there was a banging at the front hatch. Jaina, her sleeves rolled up and covered to her elbows in engine fluids, looked up and met Kev's eyes. She walked to their cabin and grabbed her blaster and blastsword. Kev followed her, getting his own blaster.

The two of them walked to the hatch in silence and Kev, as part of their well-practiced routine, took up a position against the wall where he would be out of sight from the perspective of anyone standing outside the hatch. Jaina, for her part, aimed her blaster for where the torso of most humanoids standing at the level of the hatch would be located and hit the release button.

A single woman wearing shining blue-green scaled armor and a headdress hung with small animal skulls and other primitive baubles stood outside, a sharp looking spear held in her right hand.

The woman, obviously an aborigine of the planet's primitive civilization, proceeded to speak in clear, slightly accented Basic, "I am Tenel Ka Djo of the Singing Mountain Clan. You have entered our territory without permission. You must come with me to the Singing Mountain, where our council will determine your fate." Jaina was on the edge of pointing out to the woman who had the superior weaponry – and asking her how the hell she knew Basic – when she caught sight of an enormous bipedal monster entering the clearing where they had landed. She immediately brought her blaster up and began firing at it, but before she could get off more than two shots, the Djo woman's spear whipped her blaster out of her hand and sent it skidding across the corridor. Jaina immediately drew her blastsword and pointed it threateningly at the savage. Kev simultaneously let out a shout of "Jaina!" and spun into the doorway, blaster angled at the strange woman's chest. Another movement of the spear and both of their weapons joined Jaina's blaster on the floor.

"You will," she said, "come with me."

----------

The monster, it seemed, wasn't some wild animal bent on devouring them all. It was Djo's beast of burden. She rode on it, Jaina and Kev following behind, bound with wooden boards which had holes in them for their wrists and which were fastened with primitive metal locks. The boards were tied to a rope, which was in turn tied to the "rancor."

"Look," Kev shouted to the woman atop the giant beast, "we had no idea we were in anyone's territory, and all we're trying to do is get our ship fixed so we can leave!"

"The Imperials have undoubtedly tracked your ship by now. It is likely they would have come for you within another hour." She turned to look back at them. "They would have killed you. They do not wish any other off-worlders to know of their presence here."

Kev snorted. "Too bad for them. The data in our navcomp is three years old, and whoever put that together knew about the base."

"Prison," corrected Tenel Ka. "It is a prison."

"That's the Karrde network data, Kev," said Jaina, "and they only started selling intel four years ago. Not too many people will know about this place. Not yet."

----------

"How do you speak Basic?" Jaina asked their captor perhaps half an hour later, out of boredom.

"My father taught it to me," said Djo. "He was from off-world."

"An Imperial?" asked Kev.

The woman turned back to give him a nasty look. "He fell from the sky," she said.

Jaina decided that the woman had probably learned Basic from an Imperial, probably a captive. The chances of an ejected man being found on such a sparsely populated planet were virtually null.

----------

They were an hour from the clan fortress when Tenel Ka sensed it: danger, stronger than she'd ever felt before. She knew what it was immediately: the Nightsisters had come to the Singing Mountain Clan's home. She reined Hosa, her rancor, up immediately.

"What's going on?" called her female prisoner.

"My home has been attacked."

"How can you know that?"

"I am a witch, off-worlder. I can sense these things, at least at times."

The two prisoners looked at each other. They obviously did not believe her.

Tenel Ka jumped down from Hosa's back and directed her to sit down.

"I will return soon," she said, and set off at a run towards the Singing Mountain.

--------------

It had been two hours since the so-called "witch" had left. Kev was currently pulling vainly on the rope.

"That's not going to work, you know," said Jaina in a bored voice. The knot securing them to the creature was, they had quickly discovered, located on its underbelly, and thus out of reach.

"I know," said Kev. "I'm just incredibly bored."

The rancor yawned.

"Oh gods!" yelled Kev. "Will you please shut your mouth?! That is the worst breath I have ever smelled!"

--------

Tenel Ka had met the refugees an hour out. They were mostly craftswomen, men and children, accompanied by a few mounted warriors.

"What has happened?" she asked the lead warrior.

"The Nightsisters came for us," said the woman, Kirana Ti. "They have made an alliance with the off-world prison masters. They brought their machines upon us and we were nearly defeated when your mother sent us through the secret way to bring the men and children to safety."

"My mother? Should it not have been – "

"Your great-grandmother is dead."

Tenel Ka closed her eyes and grimaced. She had felt something, but still she had dared to hope.

How could Augwynne Djo be dead?

-------------

Tenel Ka reentered the clearing at a pace that was, if anything, faster than the one she'd left at. Jaina and Kev looked at her, surprised.

"We must go. Now," she said, jumping onto her rancor's back, "and quickly. You will have to run. The Nightsisters will be pursuing my people, and the others who have escaped from my clan hall wait for us."

"Nightsisters?"

"There is no time to explain!"

-----------

Jaina considered herself to be in decent shape. Running behind the loping rancor taught her different. The creature half dragged her the last of the perhaps three klicks they ran.

Their journey paused briefly when they met up with a large crowd of people, consisting largely of children.

"Refugees," said Jaina between gasps of air.

Kev nodded. The expression on the peoples' faces was a universal one, and one both Jaina and Kev had seen almost every day of their lives until four years ago.

There was a sharp tug on their rope and the whole procession began moving, thankfully at a more reasonable pace. Jaina imagined it was so the children could keep up.

She eventually lost track of how long they had been walking, but they didn't stop until long after it was dark. They slept in the open, and Jaina and Kev huddled together for warmth.

----------

The following day, Tenel Ka released Jaina and Kev from their bonds.

"Why?" Jaina asked her captor.

"We need your help," replied Djo.

-----------

Tenel Ka translated as Kirana Ti spoke to the female prisoner. Kirana Ti could have used a speech spell, but since the Nightsisters had risen to power it had been seen as supremely unwise to reveal such spells to those outside the clan.

"Firstly, off-worlder, I would know your name," said Kirana Ti through Tenel Ka.

"I'm Jaina Draygo. Captain Jaina Draygo." The woman tried to glance at her male companion, who had been allowed to watch with the other men. She failed.

"Captain Draygo," Kirana Ti spoke on, "we have need of your aid. We would never require one who is not a witch to stand against the Nightsisters, but we wish of you your aid against their off-worlder allies.

Jaina Draygo tried to hide a smile, again with little success. She knew she was now in a position of power, but she did not immediately exploit that power, instead choosing – wisely, Tenel Ka thought – to investigate the situation which granted her that power.

"Who exactly," she asked, "are the Nightsisters?"

"Sisters of the Dark," Tenel Ka translated to Draygo, "who use the forbidden spells and use the acceptable spells in anger." The captain, she could see, did not believe her.

"And they've allied themselves with the people who run an Imperial prison."

"Indeed."

"And you want us to do what, exactly?"

"We wish you, Jaina Draygo, to lead us in the sabotage of the Imperial machines."

"To lead you?"

-------------

What in the galaxy was up with these people? They took her and Kev prisoner for violating some tribal barrier they'd had no way of knowing about, didn't even bother to ask their names, dragged them along behind the fart beast from the seventh hell for who knew how far, and now they wanted them – or her, at least – to lead an attack for them?! Jaina was suddenly reminded of some of the wilder stories about the Battle of Endor, specifically the ones involving "Ewoks."

But Djo was translating for the Kirana woman again.

"You have the knowledge we need. We have the people required. We would be rid of the Imperial machines. You," Tenel Ka translated gravely, "would gain your ship back." Jaina hoped her elation didn't show, but she doubted it. She looked to Kev, who nodded. It was the only way they were getting off this planet.

"We'll do it."


	9. Retrospective One: Nar Shaada

Jaina Retrospective One: Nar Shaada

---------

There were three of us: Kev, Millia, and me. At first we were whoever we wanted to be.

I was a race ship pilot, a CorSec officer – my foster parents remembered Corellia to me often, and they remembered law and order fondly –, a stormtrooper until I found out girls couldn't grow up to be stormtroopers. That was the start of my hatred of the Empire: a child's game, a child's dream, frustrated. Does that surprise you? Kev was a mechanic, a trader. Millia was the odd one. She was the Emperor or his hand, though never the Empress. She was Darth Vader, or, in sharp contrast, a Jedi Knight.

Then Selpha and Emret, my foster parents, died in a gang raid. I was nine.

I moved in with Millia and her sickly mother. Now there were new roles. I was big sister to wild Millia, who was free as never before to [ibe[/i the wild one. Both of us were girls, where Kev was a boy, and for some reason that meant something now. Kev was very slightly the outsider. For some reason it never mattered that Kev and I were human and Millia Twi'lek.

Two years later Millia's mother's long sickness took her, and that same year the gangs took Kev's older sister, who had been mother to him as long as any of us could remember. New roles once more.

I became, gradually, imperceptibly, the leader, taking the place in life that Millia had held in undisciplined play. Kev was the practical one, keeping us fed. Millia was the hopeful one, keeping us alive. We all became fighters, keeping each other safe.

When I was fourteen the three of us saw a swoop rider murdered by a gang (the same on that killed Selpha and Emret? I still wonder). We were small yet, and afraid. We were Nar Shaada street children and we did not help the rider, but when the gang was gone we took the swoop.

We took it apart, Kev and I for the most part with Millia assisting. It was, I would later realize, a cheap model. We fixed it up, half on knowledge, half on hunch and instinct, making it more efficient. We figured out the controls from the inside out, took turns trying to ride it. By all rights it should have been Millia or none of us who did it well. By virtue of superior instincts, it was me. New roles again.

I was the rider, the racer. Kev was the mechanic, the manager. Millia was the hype, because it takes more than wins to make people [iwant[/i to see you race, and the race organizers weren't interested in skill, they were interested in selling tickets and they were interested in flare. So Millia became the hype, and I became the flare.

Within two months we were able to buy a better swoop. Within four I had started researching shipbuilding in earnest (I'd been doing it on and off with growing comprehension since Selpha and Emret died.)

We started building the [iKestrel[/i a year after we saw the swoop rider die.

-------

Perhaps "building" is the wrong word, because we started with the remains of a ship. Perhaps it is the right word, though, because we dismantled the old yacht almost entirely, putting it back together in a whole new shape with new parts wherever possible. The old ship, which we had found in a junkyard in our first weeks of street life, had been home before the swoop brought us enough money to rent an apartment.

We wanted the freedom our own ship would bring us, and all the better if we could bring with us to the stars a place that had sheltered us when we were alone and afraid.

----------

The day I turned sixteen I announced my retirement from the racing circuit to a mild uproar from my moderate number of fans (I'd never quite gotten down the flare it took for more than that.) It had been a little less than a year since we'd started building the [iKestrel[/i and almost exactly six months since we'd named her.

We paid to have her towed to a launch pad and then we took off based on what we'd read, what we'd found taking the old ship apart, and based on sheer gut feeling. I flew pilot with Millia as my first mate and Kev standing by to take care of any bugs.

By this time I had found more reason to hate the Empire than its frustration of my vague childhood ambition. Their prejudice against women had, perversely, endured after the ascension of Empress Isard. Palpatine had ingrained it in the structure and culture of his Empire, and Ysane Isard was not one who felt such sisterhood towards others of her sex as would drive her to rectify this. The official unofficial stance was that Ysane Isard was an exception.

The Empire's prejudice against aliens also endured, and it too had become part of galactic culture under Palpatine. I'd seen it aimed against Millia, and against Kev and me as her associates.

They were tyrannical. They were militaristic. They demanded conformity and I would not give it. The New Empire might be more subtle in its evils than the Old, but did that not make it all the worse?

I hated the Empire. Millia hated the Empire. I never knew Kev to hate anything, but he certainly viewed the Empire in a negative light. We all had, aside from our reasoned, focused hate or dislike, the vague sense of blame that all the disadvantaged have for their governments.

It was decided that our first voyage would be to the recently opened Adumar system, where we would buy a shipment of proton torpedoes to sell in the Mytaranor Sector, where rebel activity was said to be the highest.

It wasn't much of a plan. We couldn't even guarantee we had the capital to pull it off, but we were young and sure that, once we were off Nar Shaada, everything would work out.


	10. Chapter 8: A Plan

**Chapter 8: A Plan**

Tenel Ka Djo came to Jaina and Kev's little patch of ground in the morning and nodded to Jaina before sitting down. The morning mist – the sun was just now rising, and they would set off soon – curled around her lithe from.

"I will be your second," she announced to Jaina.

"No," said Jaina, "Kev is my second. He's been my second for seven years and that's not going to stop now."

"He is a male."

"Yes, he is." 

Djo shook her head. "Truly, Jaina Draygo, you are a strange woman, and surely you are of a strange people. My father told me stories of his nation, and he said that it was there as it is here: the women rule in the stars my father came from."

Jaina had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. "Nonetheless, Kev is, and will remain, my second."

Djo looked at her coldly for a few seconds. "Very well," she said. "But if this must be, then I will be your third, for I know this world and its people and more of the Imperial prison masters than you yourself do."

"That's fine."

Djo nodded again and pulled some jerked meat, handing around a few strips and tearing into one herself.

"We are headed to the Dreaming River, the stronghold of an allied clan. Their warriors will join ours, and together we will attack the off-worlders."

"And do you have any plan as to how we'll go about this?"

"That, Captain Draygo, is where you come in."

Jaina sighed. "Alright," she said, "let's start with your weapons capabilities.

------------------- 

What it came down to, eventually, was that they'd have to sneak in and sack the armories. The Dathomirians had no weapons capable of going through stormtrooper armor.

"Forget getting warriors from this other clan," Jaina eventually said to Djo. "What we need is a small strike team to go in, find the armories, and destroy them. That's going to have to be the three of us, since I don't trust any of your people to do it alone, and you're the only one besides the two of us who speaks our language." 

"That still leaves the At-STs," Kev reminded her.

Jaina nodded. "I know. But those are actually more vulnerable to primitive weapons. Of course, that would require some really big stuff. Even in exactly the right place, a spear isn't going to take out an Imperial war machine. I don't see how we could do it." 

"We will use the rancors," said Djo.

Kev shook his head. "Too big a target," he said.

"Rancor hide," said Tenel Ka, grinning, "is resistant to these 'blaster' weapons you off-worlders are so found of."

Jaina returned her grin. Despite herself, she found she was becoming emotionally invested in this venture, and with these people. Damnit, why did this always happen to her when the tyrants were involved? "In other, words if we can get enough rancors and enough really big rocks or something – "

" – we can take out their armor!" Kev finish for her.

"Wait, wait," said Jaina, frowning once more. "Normal blasters are one thing, but what about laser cannons? Can rancor hide stand up to that?"

"Not indefinitely, but yes."

Kev, grinning, held out his hand to Tenel Ka. "I don't think I've told you my name," he said. "It's Kev Melet."

Tenel Ka took his hand gingerly, and looked thoroughly shocked when he gave it a good shake. He let go and Tenel Ka snapped her hand back to her body and began rubbing it with its opposite.

"It's called a handshake, Tenel Ka," said Jaina, leaning back against a rock.

------------

Two days later, they reached the Dreaming River Clan stronghold, and a meeting was called in the war room. Kev hadn't been allowed in, no matter how Jaina or even Tenel Ka argued. He was male, and that was that. He stood across the wide hall from the guards at the war room door, leaning against the wall and whistling an old Nar Shaada drinking song.

----------------

Jaina stood, fully composed, before the audience of warrior women in their animal skull headdresses and their scale armor with Tenel Ka, to her side and a little behind her, standing ready to translate.

"First off," she in a loud clear voice, "I need you to re-think your views on men, at least for now. Kev is my second, he's been my second for nine years, and that's not going to change now just because you don't like it."

A rumble of talk went through the crowed as Tenel Ka finished translating.

"Hey!" yelled Jaina over the noise, Tenel Ka echoing her even more loudly. "I'm not asking you to change your culture. I'm asking you to accept that mine is different."

The rumble died down somewhat, but did not entirely cease.

"Tenel Ka," Jaina continued, "is third-in-command of this operation. Here's how it's going to work." She took a deep breath. "The three of us – Kev, Tenel Ka, and I – will infiltrate the Imperial prison. We'll locate the armories – there'll be one for every three or four bunkrooms – arm ourselves with modern weapons, and use remote-controlled thermal detonators that we should be able to get from the armories – " she paused for Tenel Ka to explain the concept " – to destroy the rest, and as many of their armored units as possible. The explosions should be audible for at least a few kilometers.

"Those explosions are your signal. I want as many of you on rancors as possible, and I want the rancors carrying very big, very heavy rocks. We'll try to get the gates open for you, but the odds are you'll need to smash them down. Take out the gun emplacements after that. Odds are that there won't be enough detonators for us to take do more than damage their armored units – the big attack machines – so finishing those off will also be up to those of you who are mounted."

"Destroying the armories should deprive the stormtroopers of their outer armor, but the inner stuff is still durable. It'll take more than a glancing blow to take them down. I'm counting," she said, "on the skill of those of you who aren't mounted to take them out." 

"And you, Tenel Ka, and … Kev will join us in this?" Kirana Ti spoke up.

"No. We're going to free the prisoners," a malicious grin spread across Jaina's face. "Do you have any idea," she asked, "how pissed of they're going to be? Sure, some of them will be too demoralized to fight, but the rest… Just make sure you bring some extra spears to pass around." 

-----------------------

All beta'd by the great NYCitygurl.

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	11. Chapter 9: Assault

Thanks once more to NYCitygurl for the beta!

**Chapter 9: Assault**

They left their forces in the woods a mile from the prison camp and walked the rest of the way as the sun set.

"They'll know we're planning something," said Kev.

"Indeed," Tenel Ka concurred.

Jaina took a step back so that she could see them both and smiled. "They won't know what."

-----------------

Their first challenge was the wall surrounding the prison. It was comparatively low, but it would still have taken Jaina and Kev far too long to climb it alone; the patrol would have reached them before they'd both be able to get up. In order to expedite the process, Tenel Ka was the first to clamber up the grappling-rope she'd thrown up over the wall. She pulled Jaina up as the latter woman climbed, then the two of them dropped the rope and pulled Kev up. As it was, they barely managed to get down the other side and get the grapple unhooked. They ran quietly but quickly into the building, which had primitive doors with non-electronic locks that were easily broken off with Tenel Ka's spear. Such small installations tended to try to conserve power. They probably also assumed that the primitive natives could be foiled by slightly less primitive means. Idiots.

"The armories will be near the bunkrooms. Those won't be on the very close to the edges of the building, but they won't be in the very center, either," said Jaina.

Tenel Ka looked at Jaina in surprise. "You have… dealt with such installations before?"

"Yes," said Jaina in a clipped tone that forbid further questions.

------------

At the first armory they found, Kev donned stormtrooper armor.

"I had been led to believe Imperial armor was ineffective against off-world weapons," said Tenel Ka.

"That's true," replied Kev, "but 'troopers are less likely to shoot at someone dressed as one of their own without taking a moment to think and giving us a moment to shoot."

"Unfortunately," said Jaina, strapping a pair of blasters to her waist, "they don't make stormtrooper armor in my size. I assume you're not interested?"

"No. I must have access to my weapons." Tenel Ka gestured to the knife and blowgun strapped to her own waist. Jaina nodded.

They had to pry the bolts off a few lockers before they found the thermal detonators and the remote detonation controllers. They set three to the same remote detonation frequency and took a dozen more with them.

An hour later, Jaina was fairly sure that they'd hit all the armories, and that they'd found the entrance to the actual prison area. Either that, or those troopers were guarding the mess hall. They'd already made a detour to plant explosives on as many AT-STs as possible, which hadn't been many. The vehicles were fairly well-guarded. The gate had also been carefully watched, but by moving patrols. They'd managed to plant a couple of detonators there as well, which would hopefully weaken the weaken the what? You left this sentence unfinished.

"Ready?" she whispered to Kev.

"Ready," he replied.

Jaina pulled the remote detonator out of her pocket. "On three. One. Two."

"Three."

All hell broke loose.

------------

The first thing that happened was that the prison guards, aside from looking around frantically, did nothing. The second was that Jaina swung around the corner the three of them had been hiding behind with a blaster pistol in each hand and shot the two of them. "Fragged" is an Earthism – Vietnam, I believe.

Kev ran toward the door they'd been guarding and pried the front panel of the first electronic lock they'd encountered off the wall and began fiddling with the wires. Jaina and Tenel Ka stood with their backs to him, alert and on guard.

"What's it look like?" asked Jaina.

"Simple," replied Kev. "They must not have been counting on anyone trying to break into a prison." Jaina could practically feel him grinning. Perhaps a minute later, the door slid open and they ran in to the prison compound.

-----------

At the sound of explosions from within the Imperial compound, Kirana Ti spoke the spell that would allow her clan-sisters and allies to hear her thoughts. "It is time. We move out."

It was surprising to those not familiar with rancors how fast the creatures could move. Those of the Imperials who had not directly encountered the Dathomiri creatures, if they had known that warrior-witches mounted on rancors were approaching, would have pictured them advancing at the deliberate, menacing pace of AT-ATs. They would have been sorely wrong.

-----------------

Inside the prison door there was a monitoring station. They couldn't tell if it was a monitoring station at first, but after they'd killed the three officers at work there, Jaina was able to determine what it was from the readouts they'd been looking at. She sat down in the highest-ranking officer's chair, pushing his body to the floor.

"Let's see if we can access the prisoner profiles from here. We don't want to go and release any psychopaths accidentally."

"What is a psychopath?" asked Tenel Ka as she and Kev moved to look over Jaina's shoulders.

Kev grinned at her. "So your Basic vocabulary does have limits."

"Found 'em," said Jaina. "No password required. Idiots probably assumed they'd never be dealing with anyone who knew how to use a computer."

"I do not believe they even thought any of us spoke Basic," said Tenel Ka.

"How many of you do?" asked Kev.

"Only my mother and I," she replied.

Jaina continued to scroll through the list of prisoners. "Sedition, treason, subversion… These are all political prisoners."

-----------------

The rancors loped through the trees, headed toward the Imperial prison.

The gates, warped but not down, came into view. Kirana Ti whispered a command to her rancor. Shesh hefted the bolder she had carried for over a mile above her head and threw it.

The enormous stone seemed to glide through the night air in slow motion. The illusion broke instantly when it hit the gates, warping them further. It took a moment for the 'troopers in the gate-side battle emplacements to comprehend what was going on, and another for them to decide how to react to what appeared to be rock-flinging wildlife. There was time for another rancor to come up beside Shesh and hurl her own rock before the laser cannons began to fire.

---------------

Tenel Ka ran down the corridors with Jaina, slapping the door release panels and opening the cells while Kev stood guard at the entrance.

"What, what's going on?"

"Who are you!?"

"Please, leave me alone!"

Eventually the cacophony of the prisoner's yells made it impossible to discern individual words or phrases. The corridor looped around and Jaina and Tenel Ka found themselves in the same room they'd come from. A woman, middle-aged with blonde hair cropped prison-short, came striding purposefully toward the three of them.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Jaina did the introductions. "Jaina Draygo," she said, indicating herself, "Kev Melet, and Tenel Ka Djo. And you are?"

"Prisoner number – nine hells, have I really gotten that used to this place?" The woman shook her head sadly. "My name isn't important. What is important is that the other prisoners will listen to me."

"Don't they keep you all in separate cells?" asked Kev over the din of the other prisoner's voices.

"They let us out sometimes, to do menial work for them and for exercise. You'll notice that my legs aren't completely atrophied. Hell if I know why; none of us here are ever going to stand trial. No one from the outside was supposed to see how they were treating us." She said all this with the tone of one who had thought about it for a long time. She turned to the other prisoners and began shouting for order. Jaina got the feeling she'd done this before.

Eventually the majority of the prisoners had calmed down enough to stop shouting. Then Jaina clambered up onto a chair and addressed that part of the crowd that could hear her. They would be intrigued enough by her message to relay it to the others.

"Alright, everyone, here's the situation: we've blown up the armories, and, while none of us is a demolitions expert, I think we did a fairly good job. The stormtroopers should be low on, if not out of, armor and modern weapons. I'm Jaina Draygo, outlaw extraordinaire, and these fine folks are Kev Melet, my first mate, and Tenel Ka, a native of this fine planet who could kill a Wookie with her little finger. So, who wants to kick some butt?"

The blond woman immediately stepped up onto a chair beside Jaina's.

"I do. I'm not huge on revenge, but these bastards owe me for what they did to me and mine."

"Tenel Ka, would you kindly give the nice lady a blaster."

"Certainly." Tenel Ka pulled a blaster off one of the dead Imperials and handed it up to the blond.

"Thank you," said the woman. She then turned to the crowd once more. "You all know me, or at least most of you do. You know what I've been through. You know that I might risk my life on a hell-damned sliver of a chance, but I wouldn't risk yours. Well, this might not be much more than that, but it's the best chance we've got. Who's with us?"

Slowly at first, hesitantly even, the prisoners began to step forward. Some moved back, away from the possibility of a fight, but most moved forward. Jaina grinned and jumped down off her chair. She pulled the blasters off the remaining corpses. "Okay, who knows how to shoot?"

--------

The gate was down. Kirana Ti gave the order and the witches of the Singing Mountain and Dreaming River clans advanced through laser fire toward it. They were not without casualties. The rancor's skin might be resistant to such weapons, but that of the witches themselves was not, and the enemy had begun to target riders rather than the ridden. They weren't very successful, however: their turret guns weren't calibrated for such fine focus as it took to hit targets the size of humans. That would change as the attackers drew closer. A few witches had already fallen.

----------

There were about a dozen former soldiers among the prisoners. Apparently the prison had been mostly for peaceful dissidents. Jaina gave the remaining blasters to two of the soldiers and the mob moved out. The first group of troopers they encountered had managed to find two or three intact blasters and began shooting at the mob as it charged. A few of the prisoners went down and Jaina caught a graze on her shoulder. More prisoners went down along with several stormtroopers when, evidently more effected by the explosion than it had at first appeared, one of the stormtroopers' blasters exploded violently.

It was mob against mob. Jaina's mob was better armed, though it made little difference; it was impossible to aim in the brawling crowd. What it came down to, in the end, was that Jaina's mob was angry and the stormtroopers, due to the novelty of the thoroughly unexpected situation and their lack of the weapons and armor that usually made them nearly invincible, were scared. Jaina had never seen, had never taken part in, a fight so brutal, so vicious. It was hand-to-hand, foot-to-groin, nails-to-eyes fighting.

Ultimately, the stormtroopers in their black underarmor uniforms retreated, leaving their injured and dead on the floor. Some of Jaina's mob fell upon the injured. She grimaced, but didn't waste time trying to dissuade them. Kev made a feeble attempt at pulling a prisoner off a trooper who was down with a blow to the throat. Tenel Ka looked on in distaste. The blond woman organized a group to take their own injured back to the relative safety of their cells.

They left the bodies behind as they kept going. The sounds of a battle outside the building were becoming audible.

----------

Shesh was making pained sounds when laser blasts hit her in certain spots now. Rancor hide could not take such powerful fire indefinitely. And yet, they were winning. Two of the five gun emplacements were down, one more ready to fall. Kirana Ti called out an order and dismounted along with a fifth of the warriors. She brought weapons with her, along with some spare spears.

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	12. Chapter 10: Fatality

Here's Chapter Ten! All hail her Beta-ness, NYCitygurl!

**  
Chapter 10: Fatality**

Jaina spun around the corner, stunning the oncoming squad of stormtroopers. She held both blasters in front of her and let fly in a fiery arch. Lovely thing about Imperials, she thought: they always kept their blasters at full capacity.

Jaina, half hoping it would work and half just for the fun of it, stuck her leg out as the stormtroopers approached. Sure enough, one tripped over the outstretched limb. Jaina shot the downed trooper in the head while the others charged. When the brawl was over, two of Jaina's allies had to carry a third back to the cells. Jaina frowned. This wasn't going well.

The stormtroopers kept retreating, leaving their wounded behind, while Jaina had to dedicate troops to caring for her own casualties. After that first impassioned brawl the stormtroopers had gotten used to the prisoners' tactics and had, probably under the command of one of those rare Imperial non-commissioned officers who could actually think creatively, adapted. They were using guerilla tactics, hit and run, and Jaina's group, pursuing them, was forced to meet guerilla with conventional, which was rarely, as the Old Empire's Civil War had shown, a good idea.

Slowly, blasters held at her sides, Jaina led her troop's advance. One of the former soldiers, a private named Joll Ekal, came up beside her. "Ma'am, I'm worried."

"As am I," said Tenel Ka, jerking her spear out of a trooper's back.

Jaina nodded. "Me too. They're using hit-and-run tactics and they're not burdened with their wounded," she said, frowning at the last. She was a frakking smuggler and she didn't leave her allies to die. These people called themselves soldiers? No, she thought, they called themselves stormtroopers. Soldiers were the people she'd fought and fought side-by-side with on Adumar. Soldiers might have honor, but stormtroopers? It was trained out of the vast majority of them. 

"But we have to keep going," she continued, "unless anyone has any other ideas?"

"I've got one," said one of the unarmed soldiers. Jaina struggled to remember his name. Rebar Irris; that was it.

"What's that?" asked Kev. The blond woman and the armed soldiers were standing at the rear of the group, guarding against attacks from any of the side corridors they'd passed.

"We retreat. We make our stand at the cells; force them into a bottleneck at the entrance. We have the weapons, we have the advantage." He cringed slightly when he mentioned the cells. 

Jaina nodded. "Sounds good. We have to get out of here eventually, but we can wait for the reinforcements we told you about?"

"The natives?" said the solider doubtfully.

"Don't underestimate them."

They retreated.

-----

Kirana Ti got a report from one of her clan-sisters, relayed magically. The turrets were down, the two legged machines falling with ease. All was going according to plan. 

She led her troops through the Imperial compound, following the feeling of Tenel Ka's presence. They dispatched any stormtroopers they met without hesitation. Occasionally they came upon groups with one or two off-world weapons, and on some of these occasions their numbers were fewer when they were done, as was to be expected in war. They paused to close the eyes of their clan-sisters before moving on. 

-----

They made it back to the prison area without incident. Jaina, Kev, the leader of the prisoners, and the armed soldiers knelt down in firing positions a short way inside the main room, Tenel Ka standing behind them with he spear held diagonally before her. It wasn't long before their enemy was upon them.

Those armed with blasters were firing almost continuously, and still a few of the troopers got through. Most of these Tenel Ka dispatched, but a few got past her. The prisoners fell upon them with great enthusiasm. Soon bodies littered the floor inside and in front of the doors. 

There was a pause in the fighting; this round of stormtroopers was done with. Jaina was breathing hard, adrenalin rushing through her veins. The blond prisoner looked. Tenel Ka, when Jaina glanced back at her, appeared completely calm. Then another round was upon them.

-----

Jaina was barely even bothering to aim; she wouldn't have done so at all if it hadn't been habit. There were so many of them that nearly every shot hit, and through shear numbers more and more of them were getting through. Another two managed to sprint past her. She didn't turn around, trusting Tenel Ka to take them out. A loud scream indicated that she had done exactly that to one of them. Where was the other? Jaina didn't have time to look, but then there was another scream, choked and muffled, from her left. She turned around and saw that the second trooper was trying to strangle Irris, who dropped his blaster. A third trooper took advantage of her distraction, got through the gap in the blaster fire, and grabbed the pistol. She ducked before he even pulled the trigger and lunged at him, taking his legs out from under him. It was too late. She heard another scream as she shot the trooper in the face, looking straight into his eyes as she did it. She spun, firing into the mass of enemies, until she was facing Kev, down with a shot to the gut.

Then Tenel Ka was beside her, visibly struggling to stay calm and shouting in her native language. The warrior probably thought it was magic, but it wasn't doing any good. Jaina had to turn back and keep firing; the troopers were getting past and the prisoners were screaming in fear now. The blonde woman was shouting at them, but she wasn't turning around. She was still firing; Jaina should be too.

"Jay..." Kev rasped. He coughed, blood spraying out of his mouth. Tenel Ka was still shouting, almost frantic. "Love you, Jay."

She reached out and took his hand. "Love you, Kev."

"I'll tell Millia you said hi." And then he was gone.

----- 

Everything seemed too slow. She was angry, so angry. At the troopers, the Empire, the Dathomiri, Tenel Ka, herself. It was boiling up inside her, a tangible force.

Jaina stood.

So slowly. They were moving so slowly.

She moved.

Shot to the gut, one down, this is for Kev. Shot to the head, two down, for Millia. Three, for Adumar. Four, for preaching law and order and letting piracy like that that had trapped them here run rampant in the less populated regions. For gangs on Nar Shaada. For frakking Alderaan. For crime lords. For what they had done after the slave rebellions on Kessel and Kashyyyk. For- for- for-

All stormtroopers down. Jaina dropped her blasters and fell to her knees, sobbing, completely drained, as Kirana Ti and her contingent rounded the corner ahead.

Too late.

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	13. Chapter 11: Beginings

**Chapter 11: Beginning**

The night after Kev died, Jaina slept soundly, too exhausted to do anything else.

She hated herself for it in the morning.

-

The _Kestrel_ was in the base's small spacecraft hanger, outside the area Jaina and her team had explored. The ship had actually been further damaged in transport.

Jaina didn't start work on the ship immediately. She went through Kev's things first, trying to get back the smell, the taste, the feel of him. She felt as if she were trying to catch smoke: she could touch it, but holding on to it was beyond her. Better, whispered something inside her, to start letting go. Jaina couldn't do that yet. She lay on Kev's bunk for an hour, just staring up at the ceiling and remembering, before getting slowly up and heading down to the engine room to asses the damage.

- 

These were his tools. He'd held these in his hands. Jaina had her own multi-tool, but all the specialized tools were Kev's. Working on the engine that first day, she used his multitool instead of hers.

The Dathomiri left her alone that first day. She wondered bitterly whether they, with their low regard for men, could even understand what she was feeling.

-

Jaina tried to make herself stay awake the second night, tried to make herself react as she felt she should, but she fell into a dreamless sleep nonetheless

-

On the second day the remainder of the Singing Mountain Clan arrived at the prison. Jaina watched Tenel Ka's dignified reunion with her mother and felt a thousand different things.

How can they be so calm? Don't they feel anything? Why am I so calm? Why can't I feel less? More?

-

The woman with blond hair was arranging to transport the prisoners off the planet in the prison's two prisoner transport ships and taking volunteers to work with her to maintain the illusion that the prison was still up and running until everyone else was off planet. The remaining Imperials were being given to the Dathomiri as slaves. Jaina was sure she should have been against that, but she wasn't, not really. She hated them, all of them, and she knew it would wear off in the face of pragmatism, but that didn't make her feelings now any less real.

-

The second night she didn't sleep.

-

On the third day Jaina worked until noon and past without eating, then just sat in front of the engine doing nothing.

Why did she keep loosing people?

Letting out a scream of… of… of she didn't know what, she flung the calibrator she was holding across the engine room. She stared at it where it fell for a moment, then broke out into sobbing tears. She didn't get anymore work done that day.

-

The third night, as she was lying on Kev's bunk, waiting for sleep to come, there was a knock at the hatch. She stood up sleepily and made her way to the hatch to open it.

Before the hatch was even fully open Jaina received a sharp thwack on the head from what seemed to be a wooden staff.

"What the HELL?!"

"Stop moping!"

Standing before Jaina was an extremely old woman, clearly blind, holding the offending staff in her right hand and supported on her left side by Tenel Ka.

"Jaina Draygo, I have the honor of introducing you to Mother Rell," said Tenel Ka. 

"Why the hell did you hit me over the head!" shouted Jaina.

"To make you stop moping. I already told you that. Now let me into your ship, Ms. Solo!"

"My name isn't Solo."

"It isn't? Oh, of course, of course."

"If you would allow us in, Jaina Draygo?"

Jaina stepped aside. 

-

They sat in the common room, drinking Jaina's attempt at café, Mother Rell's hand trembling when she lifted the mug to her lips. Jaina stared at her.

"You know, I wasn't expecting you at first," said Mother Rell without looking up from her mug. "I thought it would be your uncle. You're not even a real Jai."

"A real wha-?"

"Don't interrupt! You're not a real Jai, but you will be one day. And you!" She poked Tenel Ka with her stick. "I expect you to be one too."

Mother Rell leaned back in her seat, a scavenged nerf-leather armchair patched with generic synthleather. It had been with the ship since Nar Shaada. She and Kev used to fight over who got to sit in it.

"Stop moping!"

"Ow!" Mother Rell had hit her with the staff again.

"Humph. So these are our Jai! Two women, one not even an offworlder! I've been cheated. The uncle would have been so much more interesting," said Mother Rell. "More polite, too," she added, poking Jaina with the end of her stick.

"Put that thing away or I'm gonna take it away!" Jaina tried to be respectful to the elderly and possibly senile, but Mother Rell was making it very difficult.

"Well," said the relevant old woman, unsteadily climbing to her feet, "I've seen you now." Tenel Ka went over to help her elder up. "Not terribly impressive, but you'll do. Come see me when the nice policeman runs out of things to teach you."

"How do you even know what a policeman is!"

-

It wasn't until later that night that Jaina thought to wonder how the old woman had known Basic.

-

On the fourth day Tenel Ka came back to see her again.

"Did you bring that crazy old woman back?" Jaina asked her from the beneath the repulsor unit she was working on. Frakking Imperials can't even transport a ship without damaging it.

"Mother Rell is a great sage and prophet, well respected by every tribe on Dathomir. And no, I did not bring her with me. Might I speak with you face to face?"

Jaina scooted out from underneath the ship, wiping the grease off her hands and onto her work-pants, and stood up.

"What can I help you with?" she asked.

"I wish to leave this planet with you." 

"You wish to what?"

"To leave this planet with you. To become part of your crew, if you will allow it."

"Why?" 

"Aside from the fact that Mother Rell has advised me to do so unless I want the galaxy to hit the ventilator, I wish to journey to the world of my father's birth. Even if you will not take me with you, would you be willing to explain what a ventilator is?" 

Jaina stared at Tenel Ka. Why the hell should she let this primitive even come with her as far as the nearest port?

Why shouldn't she?

"A ventilator," said Jaina, "is a primitive cooling device.Now come here. If you're going to serve on this ship, you're going to need to at least know what a circuit is."

-

She took Tenel Ka with her when she took the Kestrel on a shakedown run. The woman turned out to be far more useful than her background would suggest. Jaina had her work as her copilot for the run, though she double-checked everything the Dathomiri did. Tenel Ka made very few mistakes. She rarely needed to hear even the most alien concepts explained more than two or three times. She and Jaina went through the power-up checklist twice, and Tenel Ka nearly had it memorized by the second go. They went through the liftoff routine with much the same results. Tenel Ka barely flinched at the turbulence when Jaina turned the inertial dampners down to test the feel of the ship.

-

They sat in the cockpit, staring down at the shining orb of Dathomir.

"You learn fast," said Jaina, her eyes not straying from the planet before her. "And I need a new copilot."

"Do you wish to return to Dathomir? To visit your first mate's grave one last time?" They'd buried Kev the same day they'd taken the base, along with the dead prisoners.

"No."

"Then we need not return. I have said my goodbyes."

Jaina nodded. "Let me show you the jump sequence…"


	14. Retrospective 2: Adumar, and Interlude 2

A/N: My muse escaped while I was fighting off the mole people. I lured it back with cheese puffs. All is well.

**Jaina Retrospective Two: Adumar  
**

We had planned to get off Adumar as soon as we'd bought our goods, but the planet, with its strange dialect and strange clothes, convinced us to stay for a week. Two days later the Adumari nation of Cartann began its Imperial interdiction backed push to rule the planet. A week later they started hunting down untrustworthy offworlders. The three of us tried to make it out of Cartann territiory. I made it. Kev and Millia didn't.

-

I don't like being angry. When I'm angry, I feel powerful, invincible, like I can move faster, think faster, hit harder. I feel like there's something inside me trying to cut its way out. When it's over, I feel drained, empty. When it's going on I do stupid things. Things like joining the air force of the anti-Cartann coalition on Adumar.

It was in a Blade fighter that I really learned to fly. The plane I flew during the war provided the bridge I desperately needed between swoop and ship. I'd been able to pilot – barely – based on what I'd read and my instincts. On Adumar I really learned to fly.

I graduated the crash course training program the coalition had hastily assembled at the top of my class, and made ace two weeks and three skirmishes later.

-

By the time I'd been on Adumar a year, Cartann was starting to falter, for the simple reason that they'd taken to outsourcing in recent years. Without labor from other countries their food supply was limited. They had to build new factories in order to supply their Blade plants with several key parts, so they were slow to produce new planes, and, for entirely different reasons, slower to produce new pilots. It had become a war of attrition, and it was one nation against an entire world.

-

As our forces began moving into formerly Cartann territory, we began to find the prison camps. They were like the Empire at its depraved worst: half starved prisoners, political dissenters and violent rebels and simple criminals, from petty thieves to murderers, all together in one complex, all used as slave labor in the factories.

The prisoners had to be fed and given medical attention and the camp records had to be sorted through so the truly dangerous could be separated from the rest. I'd been forced to eject in a recent mission, and was still recovering from a broken leg. Adumar might hero worship her pilots, but outside of Cartann they're not beyond putting them to work. I was sent to one of the newly discovered camps as a makeshift med-tech along with several other out-of-action pilots. That's where I found Millia and Kev.

-

We trooped into the camp, the prisoners staring at us from their barrackses. I stared back, trying to smile. I stopped. Had I seen him? And then he was running towards me: Kev, dark skinned and dark haired as the day I first met him and threw eggs at him, but stick thin and with dark circles under his eyes. He couldn't run very fast. The guards trained their weapons on him but I broke through their perimeter and ran towards him, embraced him. He was all skin and bones and gristle and we were both crying our eyes out, holding each other and rocking back and forth. I kissed him for the first time then, hungrily, desperately, so glad he was alive I could have held him forever. I brought him back inside the gaurds' perimeter with me. A glare was enough to get him through. I was a pilot, after all, and on Adumar that meant a lot.

-

Kev told me, in hurried tones, that he and Millia had joined a resistance movement after a couple months of evading government forces who were after untrustworthy offworlders. Kev had convinced Millia to stay away from the more militant groups. They'd been caught graffiting statues with anti-war messages, and that had been enough to get them sent to the camps without trial.

Millia was in the camp infirmiry, he said. An officer had taken an interest in her and she refused him. He got her anyway, and she would have died either for her refusal or from her defensive wounds if we hadn't taken the camp. The infirmiry was for gaurds, not prisoners.

-

The first time I saw Millia in over a year, she was grinned at me, her best manic, sharp toothed, classic Millia smile, and tried to get out of bed. She couldn't, so I came to her and gave her a hug as fierce as the one I'd given Kev, but without the kiss. Her grip was frighteningly weak.

-

Medical supplies were scarce, and low tech. The coalition was cut off from offworld contact and shipments. Millia died of an infection that would have cost one race's winnings to cure on Nar Shaada. Her second to lsat last words were a plea to her long dead mother to come to her. Then her eyes cleared for a moment, and she turned to me. What she said will be with me forever:

"Thanks for the stars, Jaina."

And then she was gone.

-

We buried Millia in a local graveyard. Kev and I wouldn't stand for her final resting place to be anywhere near the camp. Most of the prisoners who died, even after the coalition took the camp, weren't so lucky.

-

I got Kev a job as a mechanic on an airbase safely inside coalition lines. He protested – said if I got myself killed he wanted to be there, damnit! – but I was a pilot and he was just an offworld mechanic.

The war ended a month later when Cartann declared their intent to surrender. Kev and I got the Kestrel back, mostly intact. We spent a week getting our ship into working shape. We went back to Millia's grave, to say goodbye. Neither of us intended to return to Adumar. Ever.

-

The official surrender ceremony was, as is typical on Adumar, overblown and extravagant. A good fraction of the two forces met on a field in the sweltering sun, all of us in full dress uniform, the victors wearing ceremonial blastswords, specially made for the occasion with detailing in our squadron colors. The coalition contingent was made up of our most distinguished pilots, and by some miracle I was one of them. I stood in third row from the back in the leftmost formation for four sweltering hours. The pilot next to me fainted from the heat and had to be taken to the nearby medical tent on a stretcher. I listened to the drone of the declaration of surrender, broadcast over what was probably an Imperial-made sound system, without really hearing anything.

-

I said goodbye to my squadron with by getting drunk beyond belief, which was of course completely illegal at the age of seventeen. I was the youngest member of the squadron by almost an even standard year, and they weren't sure whether to look at me as a little sister or a role model, given that I could out fly them all. The point is, we got thoroughly drunk. I somehow got it into my head to invite them all back to the Kestrel, which I did. I woke up the next morning (meaning four hours later) with the worst headache I've had to this day, eleven other hung-over pilots on my ship, and a feeling that if I didn't get off the planet immediately I wouldn't be able to stand leaving. I woke up the other pilots, kicked them out, practically crying the whole time, and took off as soon as I got clearance and before I'd really finished the warm up sequence.

-

I haven't contacted anyone I met on Adumar since I left, two years ago. It's to dangerous.

Adumar isn't part of the Empire, not formally. Officially it's an allied territory. In actuality Issard rules Adumar just as much as she rules Imperial Center. It was inevitable, I suppose. It took about a year, but the people of Adumar elected a government that favored being part of the galactic community, which means the Empire. It didn't take long before the newly established Adumari Planetary Council was just a puppet government.

I'd like to know what my old squadron thinks of that. Jax, the second in command, might just approve. Tillin, the guy who was just a year older than me – he had a crush on me that started in flight school, did you know that? – is probably still to naïve to see that his planet is being controlled by Imperial Center. I'm willing to bet Rahley has either gotten off planet or joined some sort of anti-government militia by now. Rahley always reminded me of Millia, and I loved her for it.

I can't contact them, of course. I'm wanted. The human female with the weird sword. They're as good as gone. Millia's been gone for just as long. Now Kev's gone, and the only person I've got, if you can call it that, is a Basic-speaking warrior woman from a backwater planet who I'm probably going to have trouble convincing that energy weapons are worth while. Oh, and she sleeps with her spear.

-----

**  
Interlude 2**

_Imperial Center_

There were buildings here whose lower floors were completely inacessable. Zekk knew. He'd checked. The turbolift shafts themselves ended far above where they should have.

The buildings above an area nearly twenty klicks long merged over a hundred floors from rock bottom and Zekk could find no way to get in. 

And, Zekk somehow knew, there were people in there. And they wanted out.


	15. Chapter 12: In Transit

A/N: Going Jag-centric in four, three, two, one, go!

_**Part III: Fel on Bakura  
**_  
**Chapter 12: In Transit**

On the long, slightly crowded flight to Bakura, Lando Calrissian tried to obtain the ship they were traveling on from Jag twice before he told him it was government property and twice afterwards.

-

The first time was on the first day out of Duros immediately after beating his wife and Terrik at what Jag, who had spent the last few hours engaged in a complex game of deerjack with Hal Horn, estimated was the fifth game of sabacc that afternoon.

"Hey, kid!" Lando called from the common room table, "I've got a Sacorian emerald necklace, a chocobar, and twenty credits, plus Booster's lucky halfcred. Trade you for the ship."

"That necklace was my mother's," said Tendra. "No trading it for starships. You're giving that back, or you're sleeping on the couch." 

"No he's not," said Booster. "I'm sleeping on the couch. It's more comfortable than my sleeping pad."

- 

Lando's second offer came at dinner that night, during a heated argument between Hal and Booster that had started with drug laws and somehow made its way to the role of the Jedi in Old Republic law enforcement.

"So –"

"All I'm saying is that some pseudo-religious order had no business –"

"If you won't take chocolate for the ship, I have some investments that –"

"- and if they tried to arrest Palpatine then I say –"

"- providing they haven't been frozen, should have accrued nicely by now …"

" – you're just defending them because the idea of an independent –"

"Sir, even if I wanted to sell you the Stargazer, I couldn't. It's the property of the Bakuran Defense Fleet."

" – you have no frakking idea why I support the idea of the Jedi."

-

Jag thought he'd heard the end of it after that night at dinner, but Lando started up again the next day. He came into the cockpit, where Jag had retreated to avoid Terrik and Hal, who were still at it. He took a seat next to Jag and they sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the panorama of hyperspace, before Lando spoke up.

"You play sabacc, kid?"

"Occasionally, for low stakes." 

"What would it take to convince you to bet the ship?" 

"It's not my ship."

"So?"

Jag felt an urge to bang his head against the consol repeatedly.

- 

The third night out, Calrissian produced hot chocolate, seemingly out of thin air, but probably out of mix concealed somewhere on his person. He and Tendra took a seat on the couch - where Booster was still spending his nights - with Lando's arm draped over his wife's shoulders. Terrik and Horn sat at opposite ends of the room, Terrik sulking in a chair and Horn sitting on the floor, apparently deep in thought.

"This is very good, Mr. Calrissian," said Jag.

"Would you like the recipe? I have a few secret ingredients that you won't find in any mix."

Just how much was Calrissian hiding in his jacket?

"That would be appreciated."

"Trade you for the ship."

- 

By the time they reached the Bakura system, Hal had taken to spending hours at a time in silence and to leaving the room whenever Booster tried to start an argument, and Lando had become visibly nervous. He came into the cockpit one while Jag was preparing the ship to come out of hyperspace and tried one last time.

"Hey, Jag," he said, using the young man's name for once, "I'm serious, you know. Anything I've got or can get for the ship, for a ticket out of this business. I'm not cut out for this. I'm no Han Solo."

Jag looked at him for a moment, then turned back to the consol. He had a jump to end.


	16. Chapter 13: Home

Chapter 13: Home

Jag and his passengers arrived a little before noon, twelve days before the conference. and before any of the other delegations, though Kashyyyk's representative was expected that evening. Jag handed his passengers to a diplomatic attaché, said a polite farewell, and moved quickly to catch an airtaxi to his parents' house on the outskirts of Salis D'aar.

He wasn't officially part of the military anymore, so he didn't have access to his old quarters. He wasn't sure he would be offered his commission, so he hadn't looked into getting an apartment. Before he'd been discharged and given this mission, he'd just moved back into his old room.

-

No one was home, which was good. Jag didn't want to deal with his family just yet. He deposited his sparse luggage next to the door, changed into a formal tunic and slacks and pulled his datapad and comlink out of the cabinet next to his bed. He programmed a message telling his family he was home and set it to display on the food refrigeration unit. Heading down to the garage Jag climbed into his speeder, the one he'd kept since he was sixteen.

- 

Jag had lunch at a small café about two kilometers from the administrative district. He'd missed Bakuran food. How much, he hadn't realized until he ate it again.

Someone had left a newsflimsy on the next table. He picked it up and skimmed the headlines. While he was away, Gaeriel Thanas had been elected to a second term as Prime Minister. No surprise there. Jag's father was mentioned below the fold, something about the defense budget. He flipped through the first section, skimming, reading in detail whatever caught his eye. There was an interesting editorial saying the Imperials must have some ulterior motive for having not crushed Bakura – and for that matter the rest of the rebel planets – long ago. Every few weeks there was an editorial on that topic, though usually not as well written as this one. He was glancing through an article on one of the Kurtzen senators, Kariaz Tolec, when his comlink buzzed. Answering it, Jag waved over a waiter.

"Hello?" 

"Jag! Where are you?"

It was his youngest sister

"Easy, Wyn. I'm in Salis D'aar." He shifted his comlink to his left hand so he could authenticate the bill.

"Why didn't you come home?"

"I did. Then I came here. I've got a debriefing in" he glanced at his chrono "just over an hour."

"You could have at least called me!"

"Wynessa, I've been packed into a two person yacht with four other people the last few days. I need time to myself."

"So you went to the most crowded city on Bakura."

"We do happen to live next to Salis D'ar, Wyn, "and it's where I need to be."

"Yeah, in an hour. Not right now. I really want to see you Jag. No one would tell me where you were."

"Classified."

A few strange looks cast his way – had they overheard? -- as he headed for the door, taking the newsflimsy with him. Comlink conversations involving his family tended to cause public reactions like that.

"Yeah, well, that happens way too much in this family."

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Um…"

"Syal, are you and Malinza skipping again? I told you last time, if this happened again I'd tell Mom."

"Yeah, but Jag, there's this major rally today and –"

"Okay, okay, this conversation never happened. This won't happen again. Be in school."

"Thanks Jag! 'bye!" Wyn terminated the call. Jag sighed and clicked off his end of the link. He loved his little sister, but she drove him crazy sometimes. Thinking of her, the allure of parenthood eluded him completely.

He still had an hour to kill. Maybe he'd go to the Memorial.

- 

The Ssi-ruuk War Memorial was one of Jag's favorite places in the capital city. The intricately carved pillar of hollow quartz, a meter and a half in diameter, depicted in exquisite detail the final battle over Bakura. Four consoles stood few meters away, circling the pillar. The names of loved ones and friends lost in that brief, terrible war input by visitors to the memorial into special com-terminals at the consoles, appeared displayed against the pillar as a an ever-shifting,backlit panorama. At its base of the monument was surrounded by flowers and more traditional Cosmic Balance offerings.

As was usual at this time of day, the memorial was nearly, though not quite, deserted. Jag walked to the pillar, so close he need barely extend his arm to touch it, so careful not to step on any of the offerings.

Here TIES and X-wings, Mon Cal cruisers and Imperial ships of Kuati make, were fighting side by side against Ssi-ruuk ships with their waste-spewing fission drives. Careful again not to disturb the offerings and the flowers, Jag lowered himself to the base of the column, where the brief ground forces engagement was depicted. He gently moved aside a wreath of Gabanal roses and stared at the most controversial part of the memorial.

Here, carved small, but with his features still distinguishable, was Luke Skywalker.

Putting the commander of the Rebel forces on the memorial at all had been fairly contentious. Imperial sentiment had still been strong on Adumar when the memorial had been built, especially in powerful circles. And there were those who insisted that Skywalker could still be alive. After all, who could say they'd seen his body? They were widely considered either insanely optimistic or simply insane. Gratitude and growing independent sentiment had prevailed. Skywalker had his place on the War Memorial, fighting against a rising tide of Ssi-ruuk, saber blazing in his hands.

Jag wasn't one of the eccentrics who made a hobby, even a life, of studying the Jedi, but he couldn't help but be fascinated by Skywalker. Luke Skywalker, the last of his kind, dying on the edge of the galaxy, far from his home world, fighting for those who believed him the monster from Imperial propaganda or an affront to the Balance.

The ultimate soldier.

-

The debriefing was held, not at Defense headquarters as Jag had expected, but in the Senate offices. When he arrived the only welcome present was a protocol droid, quite a surprise in Bakura's droid-fearing culture. Jag looked at the droid a moment. It did not look back, so Jag simply took up an at rest stance facing the desk on the opposite side of the room.

-

Five minutes of staring at the walls later, Jagged Fel encountered Prime Minister Geariel Thanas for the first time. He felt he did a fairly good job of concealing his shock, considering.

When she walked through the door Jag started to salute, remembered that he wasn't part of the Defense Fleet anymore, and instead bowed.

"Madame Prime Minister, it's an honor."

"Thank you, Mister Fel." She turned to the protocol droid. "R0-B1, end stand-by."

The droid's visual sensors lit up and it spoke in a slightly tinny voice: "I am at your service, Madame Prime Minister."

Thanas nodded to the droid and then seated herself at the desk opposite the room's only door.

"Please have a seat, Mister Fel," she said, indicating a repulsor chair hovering in front of the desk.

As Jag settled into the chair, he spoke. "If I may, Prime Minister, why does this debriefing merit your personal attention?"

She didn't answer him immediately. Instead, she turned to the droid. 

"R0, I want you to record the following conversation and triple encrypt it. Do not upload it to any database. If anyone without a level zero clearance tries to hack into it, you are to erase the file and wipe any traces of it from your system." 

"Understood, Madame Prime Minister. Now recording."

The Prime Minister nodded and turned back to Jag. "Corellia and Centerpoint Station may be our only chance at defeating Isard," she said.


	17. Interlude 3 and Chapter 14: Old Heroes

Sorry about the lack of updates. To make up for it I now give you... drumroll Luke and Mara! Also Danni Quee.

Beta'd by the wonderful NYCitygurl.

-----

Interlude 3

"Why are we out here again?"

"Because Karrde's gone absolutely mynockcrap insane."

"Funny, Galia, funny." Jol turned back to his sensor analysis.

"I'm not kidding, Jol. He buys up some high end gravatic sensors, hires a grad student out of Commenor and tells us we're looking for the frakking Maw Installation."

"So?"

"So, I'd be happier looking for the damn Katana Fleet. At least we know that actually existed at one point." Or Zonama Sekot. If they were going to chase a myth, they ought to chase one that was more than a couple of years old.

"Come on, Galia, I'm sure there's a reason we're –"

"In the middle of the bloody Maw? Yeah. There is. Karrde's gone mynockcrap insane."

"I sincerely doubt that."

Galia wheeled toward the door of the sensor analysis room to face the voice. "Ben!"

Ben Lars, pilot of the Star Torch stood in the doorway, holding his hands behind his back. His bearded face looked as disturbingly serene as ever under a mop of brown hair.

"Kaarde is not, as you put it, 'mynockcrap insane.' He is, I can assure you, fully possessed of all his faculties, and furthermore, he knows exactly what he is doing. I suggest you get back to work."

And with that, he was gone. 

Galia shuddered. "That guy gives me the creeps."

"Oh, he's not that bad once you get to know him," said Jol.

"Yeah. Right. Anyway, how the hell could he know any more about the mission than we do? He's just the pilot."

"Didn't you know? He shares quarters with Mara Jade."

"He's been with the organization for over twenty years and he's with the second-in-command? Why the hell is the guy still just flying the ship?"

"You really don't know anything, do you? You sure you've been with the organization three months?"

"Shut up."

"Whatever. Ben Lars is a rebel. He's just waiting around until the next Alliance shows up."

"Fat chance of that."

"Try telling that to Ben."

-

"I'm worried about Galia."

"That new sensor tech?"

"Yes. She thinks Karrde has gone, and I quote, 'mynockcrap insane.'" 

Mara snorted.

"You have to admit," said the blonde sitting across from her in the small dining alcove, "that most people would be considered a few troopers short of a squad for sending a ship into uncharted regions of the Maw based on instinct." 

Mara and "Ben" didn't exchange a glance. They didn't have to.

"What do you mean 'based on instinct?'" said Ben.

Danni raised an eyebrow. "Everyone's heard. Ghent overheard Kaarde talking about it. Apparently someone was bringing up the same point Galia – who is, by the way, an excellent analyst – and he said something about someone or another's instincts being as good as any intel out there."

Ben stared at their resident scientist until Mara elbowed him under the table.

"That's odd, isn't it, Ben?"

"Sure is. A bit worrying, too." 

-

Mara sat in the cabin's small but comfortable living area – being the highest ranking member of the organization aboard did have its privileges – while her… whatever he was to her showed Danni to the door.

By the time Ben returned she knew what they had to do, even if she didn't like it.

"Luke, we've got to tell her the truth."

Luke Skywalker ran a hand through his dyed hair. "Mara, we can't –"

"Just listen, Skywalker."

"Alright."

"I'm not saying we should tell her the whole truth – I'm certainly not interested in her finding out about my former employer – but she's Force sensitive, Luke, and she's going to figure out that there's something going on. Better that she find out from us than that she stop trusting us."

"If we tell her anything involving the Force, she's going to connect it to me, by which I mean Luke Skywalker the Rebel, not Ben Lars the pilot."

"Let's just hope that when she does, she understands." 

-----

**Chapter 14: Old Heroes**

Wynssa was in the living room, reading through what appeared to be an academic text file on her datapad when Jag arrived at home.

"You're home early, Dad," she said without looking up.

"I'm not Dad."

Wyn flew to her feet, dropping her datapad onto the hoverchair she'd been sitting on.

"Jag!" She ran over to hug him. His mother entered a moment later from the kitchen. She waited for Wynssa to release her older brother before coming over to embrace her son.

"Gods, it's good to see you, Jag." She stood back taking his shoulders in her hands. "I don't suppose you've got clearance to tell us where you were?"

"Sorry, Mother. It's still classified. Where's everyone else?"

"Davin and Chak's squad pulled guard duty on the Corellian delegation," Wynssa answered for her mother, who looked on, amused. "Cherith is flying in from Tarin Sei in a couple days, but she didn't want to miss university orientation. And Cem is – Cem, get down here! Jag's back!" 

The sound of a door opening and closing was heard and Jag's youngest sibling came thundering down the stairs, a holonovel in hand.

"Jag!" he yelled, and nearly tackled his brother to the ground, dropping his novel in the process.

"Cem, you said you were studying!" said their mother, catching sight of the holonovel. Cem didn't seem to hear her.

"Where were you? Does it have to do with the conference? Guess what? I got a hundred percent on my Galactic Literature essay!"

Jag smiled. He was home.

-

Jag was sitting with his mother in the kitchen, sharing hot chocolate. Wyn and Cem had just been shooed up to bed, and Jag and Syal were sitting in comfortable silence when Jag's com buzzed.

"Hello, this is Jagged Fel," he said, opening the link.

"Jag." It was his father's voice. 

"Father. It's good to hear from you. What's going on?" 

"There's something wrong. Come to my office."

The comlink clicked off.

"Mother, I've got to go."

- 

Their were nine people already in his father's office when Jag arrived. He recognized the Prime Minister and her husband Pter, the head of the Defense Fleet, the Corellian delegation, and, of course, his father, who had surrendered his varnished wood desk to the Prime Minister. The two people Jag didn't recognize were very tall and very hairy: Wookies, presumably from the Kashyyyk delegation. Two protocol droids were also present: the bronze model he'd seen earlier that day, and one that was all gold save for a silver leg, and which looked distinctively out of place.

"Madame Prime Minister," said Jag, bowing to her, and then to the rest of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen."

"Mr. Fel," said the Prime Minister, "thank you for joining us."

"It is my pleasure, madam."

She nodded, then gestured to her husband. "Admiral Thanas of the Bakuran Defense Fleet." A seated bow to the two Wookies. "Ambasador Chewbacca of Kashyyyk and his aide, Lowbacca. Their translator droid."

The droid began to speak. "Greetings. I am C –" It was cut off by a growl from the larger of the two Wookies.

The bronze droid spoke up. "The distinguished Ambassador wishes to convey his sentiment that now is not the time for –"

"Quiet, you!" said the gold droid. "I am Ambassador Chewbacca's translator and I will –" 

"What Chewie here said," interrupted Lando, "was 'be quiet.'"

The droids went silent and the Ambassador gave a satisfied sounding grunt. Jag felt that he was gaining a new empathy with Bakura's anti-droid extremists.

The Prime Minister cleared her throat. "Ambassador Chewbacca, Mr. Lowbacca, Admiral Thanas, I would like to introduce Jagged Fel, private citizen, who is responsible for seeing our esteemed Corellian guests safely out of their system."

"Nice to see you again, kid!" called Booster, who seemed to take a special joy in vaguely inopportune behavior. Or maybe he was just trying to upset Hal, who rolled his eyes at Terrik's comment.

"Ambassador Chewbacca," continued the Prime Minister, ignoring the interruption, "if you would be so kind as to explain the situation?"

The ambassador stood up and made a sound that Jag assumed was the Wookie equivalent of clearing one's throat, then spoke in what was probably Shiriiwook. No one said anything for a few seconds after he stopped.

Lando broke the silence. "Threepio, I think this is the part where you translate."

The gold droid – Jag was sure he'd heard its designation before, but he'd be damned if he could remember where – stopped glaring at his opposite with a surprised "Oh!" and turned back to the group.

"Master - excuse me, I mean Ambassador – Chewbacca states that, upon his arrival on your fine planet – I refer of course only to those here who consider Bakura their homeworld and not to –"

The second Wookie, the aide, interrupted with a low growl.

"I am getting on with it, Master Lowbacca, or at least I would if you wouldn't interrupt me."

Jag noted that the Admiral was at this point fighting to restrain an amused smile.

"Upon Master Chewbacca and his delegation's arrival, he attempted to contact the individuals responsible for this conference, who should have been en route to Bakura by this time, and found that he was unable to do so. While such minor irregularities are, he wishes to assure you, not entirely unheard of given their mode of conveyance – and I agree here completely that ship is incredibly decrepit – he is none the less quite worried, as is his aide."

Jag frowned. The opinion of a personal aide, chosen for their perception and intelligence, was certainly important, but it was rather odd to mention it in these circumstances.

Apparently Tendra thought so as well. "If you'll excuse my asking, why do you mention your aide's opinion?"

The Ambassador growled a response, which the gold droid – Threepio – translated as "Lowbacca has the Force in him." When this provoked a raised eyebrow from Booster, a rather louder series of growls followed.

"Ambassador Chewbacca wishes to remind you all that, being very much your senior, he has had the opportunity to see far more of the Jedi than you ever will, and he has taken that opportunity, thank you very much. I am afraid my diplomatic programming prevents me from expressing this in appropriately colorful terms."

Hal gave a snort of laughter, then spoke. "Well, I certainly don't know anything about the Force or Jedi, but I do know that the situation you've described is suspicious. Who are these people, anyway? I was under the impression that the Bakuran government was responsible for this conference."

The Prime Minister replied, "We organized the conference, but the initial idea and the information as to who was trustworthy enough to invite came from a pair of independent operators, codenames Vykk and Lelila Idanian. They prefer to work in the background, but I've met them both several times and I trust them completely. And Mr. Horn is right. This is worrying. Which is why you're here, Jagged. In the last mission you were assigned you showed that you could deal well with novel situations, with people from all walks of life, and with the Galaxy beyond Bakura. I want you to find Lelila and Vykk for me and, if necessary, to offer them sanctuary here. Will you accept this mission?"

A thousand things flashed through his mind. Duty and the Bakuran ideals. The fact that it would keep him out of the cockpit of his fighter longer. Another chance to see the larger galaxy. He'd be away from his family and friends again, this time quite possibly for much longer. And, a part of him whispered, the slightest chance, just an infinitesimal probability, that he'd see Jaina again.

"I'll do it."

"Thank you, Jagged. We'll discuss the details later."

"Madame Prime Minister," said Lando, "if I may, why are the four of us even here?"

"You're here," she replied, "because there's a chance this gathering has been compromised, and you need to that, and why, so that you can make an informed decision as to whether to stay.

Lando simply nodded. 

"I, for one, am staying," said Hal. "This is where I need to be."

"How the hell could you know that?" asked Booster.

Hal gave him a glare that could melt blast doors and simply said, "Policeman's intuition."

"And the rest of you? You don't have to come to a decision now, of course, but if you have any preliminary thoughts it would help me figure out what to do next."

The first speaker surprised Jag.

"I'll stay," said Lando.

"Someone has to keep him in line," said Tendra.

"Aw, what the hell?" said Booster.

A quiet smile came to life on the Prime Minister's face. "Thank you all. Now, if all of you except Admiral Thanas and General and Mr. Fel would leave, it's best that as few of us know the details of this mission as possible."

The Corellian and Wookie delegations filed out.

-

"You're looking for Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo," said his father.

"Sir?"

"You didn't hear him wrong, Jagged," said the Prime Minister.

"I was under the impression that they had disappeared after the Second Battle of Bakura and the collapse of the Alliance," said Jag. 

"For the most part, they did," said Admiral Thanas. "But they got in contact with us again after the Corellian Uprising and they've been spreading information between different rebel groups ever since – all incognito of course."

"Jag." His attention snapped to his father, who rarely used his abbreviated name in public.

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you to understand how important this is. The Solos may not have been visible for the last twenty years, but virtually any cooperation between anti-Imperial groups –" Soontir Fel would never, Jag thought, call himself a rebel, " – has been their doing. In addition, that their identities remain a secret is vital. We just had two of Han Solo's closest associates from the Rebellion in this room, and they were asked to leave before the Solos' identities were revealed. That should tell you how important it is that they remain anonymous. If anyone were to find out that they are still active, there's no chance they would be willing to leave them alone, and if someone starts looking for them then Isard will take notice. The Prime Minister is trusting you with an enormous task here, and I expect you to be up to it. I know you'll be up to it, son."

"Thank you, Father."

The elder Fel nodded and allowed the slightest of smiles to cross his face. "You're welcome. Now, the details of the mission…"

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